Original article
Epidemiology of dermatophytoses in 31 municipalities of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina: A 6-year studyEpidemiología de las dermatofitosis en 31 municipios de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina: estudio de 6 años

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riam.2017.07.002Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

No reliable data are available in the province of Buenos Aires regarding the frequency of dermatophytoses and other fungal diseases. The distribution of the clinical forms and the species involved are also unknown.

Aims

To present the data collected by the laboratories participating in the Mycology Network of the province of Buenos Aires (MNPBA) from a retrospective epidemiological survey on dermatophytoses.

Methods

A descriptive and exploratory analysis was performed on the cases of dermatophytoses gathered between 2002 and 2007 by the Mycology Network of the province of Buenos Aires.

Results

Of the 3966 dermatophytosis cases reported by 41 laboratories in 31 municipalities, more than a half occurred in three highly populated urban municipalities. The male:female ratio was 1:1.5. The most frequent clinical form was tinea unguium, diagnosed in 904 cases (51.83%), followed by tinea capitis (19.32%), tinea corporis (15.19%), tinea pedis (6.77%), tinea cruris (3.73%), and tinea manuum (2.18%). The species involved was identified in 1368 (33.49%) cases. Trichophyton rubrum was the most common species, with a frequency of 42.03%. An association was found between urban municipalities and T. rubrum or the Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex.

Conclusions

Results from the MNPBA survey provide valuable information that should enable further interventions to be designed in order to prevent and control the disease.

Resumen

Antecedentes

No existen datos fiables acerca de la frecuencia de las dermatofitosis y otras enfermedades fúngicas en la provincia de Buenos Aires. Por otra parte, la distribución en la provincia de las formas clínicas y las especies involucradas no es conocida.

Objetivos

El objetivo de este estudio fue reportar los datos recogidos por los laboratorios que participan en la Red de Micología de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (MNPBA) a través del análisis de encuestas epidemiológicas retrospectivas sobre casos notificados de dermatofitosis.

Métodos

Se realizó un análisis descriptivo y exploratorio de los casos de dermatofitosis recogidos por los laboratorios de la Red de Micología de la provincia de Buenos Aires durante un período de 6 años (2002-2007).

Resultados

Se registraron 3.966 casos procedentes de 41 laboratorios distribuidos en 31 municipios. Más de la mitad de los casos tuvieron lugar en tres municipios urbanos muy poblados. La proporción varón:mujer fue de 1:1,5. La forma clínica más frecuente fue tinea unguium, diagnosticada en 904 casos (51,83%), seguida de tinea capitis (19,32%), tinea corporis (15,19%), tinea pedis (6,77%), tinea cruris (3,73%) y tinea manuum (2,18%). La identificación de las especies de dermatofitos se realizó en 1.368 casos (33,49%). La especie predominante fue Trichophyton rubrum (42,03%). Se observó asociación entre los municipios de alta densidad poblacional y la presencia de T. rubrum y del complejo de especies Trichophyton mentagrophytes.

Conclusiones

Los resultados de las encuestas de MNPBA generan información de calidad que permite el diseño de nuevas intervenciones para la prevención y control de estas micosis.

Section snippets

Methods

From January 2002 to December 2007 a six-year retrospective epidemiological review of 5650 cases of superficial mycoses was carried out. In order to collect the data, a form with closed questions was created and distributed to the laboratories. Records of dermatophytoses were collected monthly from 55 public clinical laboratories of the MNPBA, Argentina. The criteria for a clinical diagnosis of dermatophytosis were positive direct examination (hyaline septate hyphae, with or without

Results

A total of 5650 cases of superficial mycoses were reported by 41 (74.5%) of the 55 participating laboratories of the MNPBA. Of those, 3966 were dermatophytosis cases, and accounted 70.2% of all reported cases. However, it was not possible to confirm the definitive diagnosis through the culture in 333 cases, then only a presumptive diagnosis of dermatophytosis should be considered. Yeast infections accounted for 1678 (29.7%) cases, and the remaining six cases were infections produced by

Discussion

The results show that from 2002 to 2007 dermatophytosis was the most common superficial mycosis in the PBA. There were more female cases, which agrees with previous studies performed in different regions of Argentina.6, 7, 17 In contrast, other studies conducted in Portugal8, 20 and Mexico14 showed no significant gender differences, and Chinelli et al.5 reported a higher frequency of dermatophytoses in males in Brazil. It is likely that in this study women attended the dermatology service more

Conflict of interests

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Verónica Trevisán for collecting the data.

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    1

    Mycology Network of the Province of Buenos Aires (MNPBA). See Appendix A for a complete list of members.

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