Aetiology of onychomycosis in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

A 1-year study was conducted on 151 patients with finger- or toenail disease attending a dermatology clinic in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Nail scrapings and or clippings were collected and investigated with a KOH preparation for direct microscopy and cultured for fungi. Eighty-nine (59%) patients were females. Most females (62%) presented with fingernail disease while in men the toenails were involved in 76%. Fungi were isolated in 78 (52%) of all cases and the fingernails were more commonly positive than toenails. Of the 78 isolates, 49 (63%) were yeasts, including eight Candida species, dermatophytes accounted for 22 (28%) and seven (9%) were other moulds. Non-dermatophyte moulds constituted 20% of male isolates but only 4% of female isolates. Eighty-one per cent of Candida species were from fingernails, while 87% of all the dermatophytes were from toenails.