[Topical therapy of onychomycoses with 8% ciclopirox laquer. An open, non-comparative study]

To investigate the efficacy and tolerability of 8% Ciclopirox-containing nail varnish used for topical treatment of onychomycoses in an open single-center study.

Forty-seven patients with onychomycoses affecting a finger and/or toe nail were treated with nail varnish containing Ciclopirox once daily for 6 months. The results of treatment were monitored at regular intervals during treatment, and for 6 months after termination of therapy.

By the end of treatment, culture for fungi was negative in all the patients investigated; clinical healing was observed in 26 patients (56.5%) and clinical improvement in 13 (28%). In seven patients, however, the clinical findings had hardly changed. By the end of the 6-month follow-up phase, the healing rate (mycological and clinical) was 59.5% (28/47 patients), improvement (mycological healing, clinical improvement) was 12.8% (6/47 patients) and failures (neither mycological nor clinical healing) was 27.7% (13/47 patients). Mild distal subungual onychomycoses and superficial white onychomycoses are the main indications for topical antimycotic treatment. In contrast, extensive distal subungual nail mycoses, proximal subungual and total dystrophic onychomycoses in which the matrix of the nail already appears to be involved, represents the limitations of topical treatment. In addition to the high level of efficacy, which depends upon the extent and form of nail involvement, the substance was very well tolerated; in none of the patients were any side effects observed.