Clinico-Mycological Study of Dermatophyte Toenail Onychomycosis in New Delhi,India

Introduction:

There is a constant need to define the epidemiological and mycological characteristics of onychomycosis (OM) for optimal management strategies.

Objectives:

To define the epidemiological and mycological characteristics of patients with dermatophyte toenail OM in a tertiary care hospital.

Materials and Methods:

Hundred consecutive patients of KOH and culture-positive dermatophyte toenail OM were subjected to detailed history, clinical examination and investigations.

Results:

Maximum number of patients (40%) belonged to 31-45 years age group and there was a male preponderance (M:F = 6.7:1). The mean duration of disease was 54 months. Thirty-three patients had fingernail involvement in addition to the toenail OM and 37% had co-existent cutaneous dermatophyte infection. Discoloration was the most common symptom (98%). Ninety-four (94%) patients had distal lateral subungual onychomycosis (DSLO) while two had superficial onychomycosis (SO) and only one had proximal superficial onychomycosis (PSO). Trichophyton interdigitale was the most common etiological agent (61%) followed by Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton verrucosum.

Conclusions:

Toenail OM is more common in males. DSLO was the most common clinical variant and T. interdigitale the most common etiological fungus responsible for toenail OM in our region. The importance of early diagnosis and treatment is highlighted as long-standing toenail OM predisposes to fingernail onychomycosis and recurrent tinea pedis.     

Comparative Assessment of the Efficacy and Safety of Sertaconazole (2%) Cream Versus Terbinafine Cream (1%) Versus Luliconazole (1%) Cream In Patients with Dermatophytoses: A Pilot Study

Background:

Sertaconazole is a new, broad spectrum, fungicidal and fungistatic imidazole with added antipruritic and anti-inflammatory activity that would provide greater symptomatic relief and hence would be beneficial in improving the quality of life for the patient with dermatophytoses.

Aims and Objectives:

To compare efficacy and safety of sertaconazole, terbinafine and luliconazole in patients with dermatophytoses.

Materials and Methods:

83 patients with tinea corporis and tinea cruris infections were enrolled in this multicentre, randomized, open label parallel study. The initial ‘Treatment Phase’ involved three groups receiving either sertaconazole 2% cream applied topically twice daily for four weeks, terbinafine 1% cream once daily for two weeks, luliconazole 1% cream once daily for two weeks. At the end of treatment phase, there was a ‘Follow-up Phase’ at end of 2 weeks, where the patients were assessed clinically and mycologically for relapse.

Results:

Of the 83 patients, 62 completed the study, sertaconazole (n = 20), terbinafine (n = 22) and luliconazole (n = 20). The primary efficacy variables including change in pruritus, erythema, vesicle, desquamation and mycological cure were significantly improved in all the three groups, as compared to baseline, in the Treatment and Follow-up phase. Greater proportion of patients in sertaconazole group (85%) showed resolution of pruritus as compared to terbinafine (54.6%); and luliconazole (70%), (P < 0.05 sertaconazole vs terbinafine). There was a greater reduction in mean total composite score (pruritus, erythema, vesicle and desquamation) in sertaconazole group (97.1%) as compared to terbinafine (91.2%) and luliconazole (92.9%). All groups showed equal negative mycological assessment without any relapses. All three study drugs were well tolerated. Only one patient in sertaconazole group withdrew from the study due to suspected allergic contact dermatitis.

Conclusion:

Sertaconazole was better than terbinafine and luliconazole in relieving signs and symptoms during study and follow up period. At the end of ‘Treatment Phase’ and ‘Follow-up’ Phase, all patients showed negative mycological assessment in all three treatment groups suggesting no recurrence of the disease.     

Efficacy and Safety of Terbinafine Hydrochloride 1% Cream vs. Sertaconazole Nitrate 2% Cream in Tinea Corporis and Tinea Cruris: A Comparative Therapeutic Trial

Context:

To the best of our knowledge, till date no study comparing the efficacy and safety of terbinafine hydrochloride 1% cream and sertaconazole nitrate 2% cream has been done in localized tinea corporis and tinea cruris.

Aims:

This clinical trial was carried out to study and compare the efficacy of topical terbinafine hydrochloride 1% cream and sertaconazole nitrate 2% cream in localized tinea corporis and tinea cruris and to know the adverse effects of these antifungal creams.

Settings and Design:

In this prospective, single blind, randomized control trial with two arms, patient were randomized into two groups Group A (treatment with terbinafine cream) and Group B (treatment with sertaconazole cream). A total of 38 patients were enrolled for the study, 20 patients in group A and 18 patients in group B. But five patients of group A and three patients of group B were lost for follow-ups. Therefore sample size was of 30 patients with 15 patients in group A and group B each.

Materials and Methods:

Patients in group A and B were treated with twice daily topical 1% terbinafine hydrochloride and 2% sertaconazole nitrate cream respectively for a total duration of three weeks. Clinical improvement in signs and symptoms of each clinical parameter, namely itching, erythema, papules, pustules, vesicles, and scaling were graded weekly and clinical cure was assessed. KOH mount and culture was done weekly up to 3 weeks to access mycological cure. Fungal culture was done on Sabouraud''s dextrose agar with chloramphenicol and cycloheximide.

Statistical Analysis Used:

Statistical analysis was done using students paired and unpaired t-tests from the data obtained.

Results:

Comparison between Group A and Group B for complete cure (clinical and mycological) showed that at the end of 3 weeks both terbinafine and sertaconazole groups had 100% complete cure. When the two groups were compared for complete cure, at the end of 1^st and 2^nd week, statistically non-significant results were observed (P = 0.461 and P = 0.679 respectively). However, at the end of 2^nd week, complete cure rate for terbinafine was 80% as compared to 73.35% for sertaconazole with no statistical significance. In both Group A and Group B, clinically significant local side effects like erythema, swelling, stinging sensation, or increased itching were not noticed. A majority of our patients in both the group showed Trichophyton rubrum followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes growth on culture. In Group A, 11 patients showed growth of T. rubrum, 2 patients showed growth of T. mentagrophytes, and 1 patient had only KOH test positive. In Group B, 10 patients revealed growth of T. rubrum, followed by growth of T. mentagrophytes in 3 and Microsporum canis in 2 patients. The therapeutic response is more or less same in infection with different species.

Conclusions:

The newer fungistatic drug sertaconazole nitrate 2% cream was as effective as terbinafine hydrochloride 1% cream which is one of the fungicidal drugs, though terbinafine hydrochloride 1% cream has higher rates of complete cure at the end of 2 weeks as compared to sertaconazole nitrate 2% cream. Both the drugs showed good tolerability with no adverse effects.     

EVALUATION OF CLINICOMYCOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ONYCHOMYCOSIS

Background:

Incidence of onychomycosis has increased tremendously in recent times. Relatively little work has been done on this problem in our country. Research in past has been concentrated mainly on superficial mycoses of the skin.

Aim:

It is a well-established fact that geographical distribution of the fungi may change from time to time; hence, this study was planned to analyze clinical, epidemiological, and mycological features of onychomycosis.

Materials and Methods:

Sixty patients clinically suspected and microscopically proven to have onychomycosis were taken up for the study. Nail samples, collected by scraping in 30 patients and by using a dental drill in the rest, were examined microscopically and cultured for fungus.

Results and Conclusions:

Forty-five fungal isolates were obtained from 60 patients. Trichophyton rubrum was the commonest fungus isolated (46.67%). Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Candida albicans accounted for 20% and 15.56% isolates, respectively. Two cases showed mixed growth of Trichophyton rubrum and Aspergillus niger in one and Trichophyton rubrum and Aspergillus fumigatus in the other. Isolation rate was higher by drilling compared to scraping, the rates being 83.33% and 66.67%, respectively. Superficial mycotic infections were present in 27 patients (45%).     

Pulse itraconazole vs. continuous terbinafine for the treatment of dermatophyte toenail onychomycosis in patients with diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND: Oral terbinafine and oral itraconazole are two of the most common agents used for the treatment of toenail dermatophyte onychomycosis. Despite the fact that diabetic patients are more likely to have onychomycosis than normal individuals are, there is little research into the efficacy of standard oral regimens of terbinafine and itraconazole for onychomycosis in the diabetic population. STUDY DESIGN: We present a prospective, randomized, single-blind, parallel group, comparator-controlled, multi-centre study designed to assess the efficacy of the pulse itraconazole (200 mg twice daily, 1 week on, 3 weeks off, for 12 weeks) vs. continuous terbinafine (250 mg once daily for 12 weeks) oral therapies in the treatment of dermatophyte toenail distal and lateral subungual onychomycosis (DLSO) in the diabetic population. EFFICACY PARAMETERS: Primary efficacy measures included mycological cure rate (negative KOH and culture) and effective cure (mycological cure plus nail plate involvement of 10% or less) at Week 48. RESULTS: At Week 48, mycological cure was attained by 88.2% (30 of 34) and 79.3% (23 of 29) of patients in the itraconazole and terbinafine groups, respectively (P not significant). Effective cure (mycological cure with 相似文献   

Oral itraconazole for the treatment of severe seborrhoeic dermatitis

Background:

Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is an inflammatory skin disorder in which colonies of Malassezia furfur have been found in affected areas.

Aim:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of itraconazole in the treatment of severe SD.

Materials and Methods:

Itraconazole was given to 30 patients of SD in a dose of 100 mg twice daily for 1 week followed by 200 mg/day for first 2 days of the following 2 months. The response was noted on day 15, 30, 60, and 90. The clinical response was graded as markedly effective, effective, or ineffective.

Results:

Clinical improvement (evaluated as markedly effective or effective) was observed in 83.3% cases.

Conclusion:

The anti-inflammatory activity of oral itraconazole suggests that it should be the first-line therapy in severe SD.     

The use of an intermittent terbinafine regimen for the treatment of dermatophyte toenail onychomycosis

Objective  To compare the efficacy and safety of intermittent terbinafine with standard courses of terbinafine and itraconazole for dermatophyte toenail onychomycosis.
Design  Data from a Canadian study of continuous terbinafine (CTERB) and intermittent itraconazole (III) was compared to an intermittent terbinafine regimen (TOT) using similar protocol to the randomized study.
Interventions  Terbinafine 250 mg/day for 4 weeks followed by 4 weeks of no terbinafine and then an additional 4 weeks of terbinafine 250 mg/day (TOT); terbinafine 250 mg/day for 12 weeks (CTERB); itraconazole pulse of 200 mg twice daily for 7 days on, 21 days off, three pulses given (III).
Results  At 72 weeks, mycological cure rates (negative KOH and culture) were 36 of 43 (83.7%), 25 of 32 (78.1%), and 17 of 30 (56.7%), for the TOT, CTERB, and III groups, respectively ( P =  0.01 for TOT vs. III). Effective cure rates (simultaneous mycological cure and ≤10% nail plate involvement) were 34 of 43 (79.1%), 21 of 32 (65.6%), and 11 of 30 (36.7%), respectively ( P <  0.001 for TOT vs. III; P =  0.02 for CTERB vs. III). No significant differences in effective and mycological cure rates were noted between the two terbinafine groups. Adverse events reported were similar to those reported in the respective package inserts. Most adverse events were mild to moderate, transient, and did not require interruption of the drug regimens. No serious adverse events were reported.
Conclusions  A TOT intermittent terbinafine regimen provided similar efficacy and safety to the gold standard continuous terbinafine regimen and better effective cure rates than pulse itraconazole therapy.

Conflicts of interest

None declared     

NONDERMATOPHYTIC MOULDS AS A CAUSATIVE AGENT OF ONYCHOMYCOSIS IN TEHRAN

Background:

In the last few years the number of cases of nondermatophytic onychomycosis has greatly increased.

Aim:

To evaluate the incidence, the clinic characteristics, and predisposing factors of nondermatophytic onychomycosis.

Materials and Methods:

All collected specimens were analyzed by direct microscopy and culture. Microscopic examination of these specimens was carried out in potassium hydroxide solution (20%) with dimethyl sulfoxide (4%). These specimens were cultured on sabouraud''s glucose agar with chloramphenicol and sabouraud''s glucose agar with chloramphenicol and cycloheximide. Cultures were incubated at 25°C for up to 28 days and checked twice weekly for growth.

Results:

Nondermatophytic onychomycosis were 11.5% of all onychomycosis. We found that Aspergillus spp. were the more responsible etiologic agents of nondermatophytic onychomycosis, resulting in a total of 28 patients (59.6%). In our study other causative agents were Acremonium spp. (17%), Fusarium spp. (12.7%), Geotrichum spp. (4.2%), Trichosporun spp., (4.2%) and Scopulariopsis spp (2.1%). In our patients moulds onychomycosis developed mainly in toenails (74.5%).

Conclusion:

Knowing the exact pathogen is important and has implications in therapy and prognosis.     

Comparative evaluation of effectivity and safety of topical amorolfine and clotrimazole in the treatment of tinea corporis

Background:

Tinea corporis is a common superficial dermatophytosis seen in tropical countries. Newer molecules are constantly being introduced for its treatment. Topical clotrimazole is in vogue as the treatment for this condition for a long time. Amorolfine is a comparatively recently introduced drug for topical use in this condition.

Aims:

To assess the effectivity and safety of amorolfine 0.25% cream in patients with tinea corporis, in comparison to clotrimazole 1% cream.

Materials and Methods:

Patients presenting with symptoms of tinea corporis were mycologically confirmed for the presence of fungal hyphae. They were randomly divided into two groups: one group received amorolfine and the other received clotrimazole. Treatment duration was for 4 weeks and study duration was for 8 weeks. Evaluation was carried out using the standard clinical parameters on day 1, day 14, day 28 and a follow-up on day 56. Adverse effects were also recorded. Data entry was done in Excel datasheet and analyzed with Epiinfo 2002. Chi-square test and t-test were used according to the type of data.

Results:

The patients of the two groups were matched at baseline in respect to their demographic profile. Analysis of collected data showed significant improvement in both the groups, suggesting that both the drugs were effective agents in tinea corporis infection. Between-groups comparison of mycological cure rate and clinical improvement showed no significant difference.

Conclusion:

Amorolfine 0.25% cream is found to be safe and effective, like clotrimazole, when used topically in tinea corporis.     

RANDOMIZED COMPARATIVE CLINICAL TRIAL OF ARTEMISIA SIEBERI 5% LOTION AND CLOTRIMAZOLE 1% LOTION FOR THE TREATMENT OF PITYRIASIS VERSICOLOR

Aims:

To compare the therapeutic effects of topical Artremisia sieberi 5% lotion with topical clotrimazole 1% lotion in the treatment of pityriasis versicolor.

Materials and Methods:

100 patients with pityriasis versicolor and microscopic identification of Malassezia furfur were randomly assigned to treatment with either topical Artemisia sieberi 5% lotion (group 1) or topical clotrimazole 1% lotion (group 2) for 2 weeks. Group 1 and group 2 consisted of 51 and 49 patients respectively. The patients were evaluated both clinically and mycologically at baseline and every 2 weeks for a period of 4 weeks.

Results:

At the end of the second week, clinical cure rates were 86.3% and 65.3% for group 1 and group 2 respectively (P<0.01), but at the same time mycological cure rate was 92.2% for group 1 and 73.5% for group 2 (P<0.05). At the end of the fourth week, clinical cure rates were 86.3% and 59.2% for group 1 and group 2 respectively (P<0.01), and at the same time mycologic cure rate was 96.1% for group 1 and 65.3% for group 2 (P<0.01).

Conclusions:

The results of this study demonstrated that Artemisia sieberi 5% lotion was more effective than clotrimazole 1% lotion in the treatment of pityriasis versicolor.     

COMPARISON OF THE ACTIVITIES OF FOUR ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS IN AN IN VITRO MODEL OF DERMATOPHYTE NAIL INFECTION

Background:

Onychomycosis is a difficult condition to treat and cure rates are disappointing. Moreover fungicidal action of antifungal agents in NCCLS assays and their rapid accumulation in nails in vivo are not compatible with the duration of treatment.

Aims:

This study aimed to find the effectiveness of 4 different antifungal agents in an in vitro model with some similarities to in vivo conditions.

Materials and Methods:

Strains of Trichophyton rubrum I-III, Trichophyton mentagrophytes (usual form), Trichophyton mentagrophytes 73, Epidermophyton Flucosom, Microsporum Canis, and Trichophyton Schoenleini which were isolated from the nails of patients, were hired. Inocula suspensions were prepared from 7 to 14 day-old cultures of dermatophytes. Antifungal agents including fluconazole, ketoconazole, terbinafine, and griseofulvin were obtained as standard powders. For each antifungal agent, initial MIC was calculated by registering the optical density for 10 two-fold serially diluted forms which was incubated with diluted fungal suspensions with RPMI 1640. Human nail powder inoculated with different strains and incubated in RPMI 1640 and different concentrations of antifungal drugs for 4 weeks. Final MIC at different steps of 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks were investigated.

Results:

The final MIC that resulted from the incubation of dermatophytes with nail powder was much more than the initial which was concluded from conventional MIC assay. Terbinafine had the lowest rate of initial and final MICs.

Conclusion:

The model described here may present more similar conditions to clinical fungal infections; therefore the results such as MIC may be more helpful for hiring the most effective antifungal agent.     

Long-term effectiveness of treatment with terbinafine vs itraconazole in onychomycosis: a 5-year blinded prospective follow-up study

OBJECTIVE: To examine long-term cure and relapse rates after treatment with continuous terbinafine and intermittent itraconazole in onychomycosis. DESIGN: Long-term prospective follow-up study. SETTING: Three centers in Iceland. SUBJECTS: The study population comprised 151 patients aged 18 to 75 years with a clinical and mycological diagnosis of dermatophyte toenail onychomycosis. INTERVENTIONS: In a double-blind, double-dummy study, patients were randomized to receive either terbinafine (250 mg/d) for 12 or 16 weeks or itraconazole (400 mg/d) for 1 week in every 4 for 12 or 16 weeks (first intervention). Patients who did not achieve clinical cure at month 18 or experienced relapse or reinfection were offered an additional course of terbinafine (second intervention). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary efficacy criterion was mycological cure, defined as negative results on microscopy and culture at the end of follow-up and no requirement of second intervention treatment. Secondary efficacy criteria included clinical cure without second intervention treatment and mycological and clinical relapse rates. RESULTS: Median duration of follow-up was 54 months. At the end of the study, mycological cure without second intervention treatment was found in 34 (46%) of the 74 terbinafine-treated subjects and 10 (13%) of the 77 itraconazole-treated subjects (P<.001). Mycological and clinical relapse rates were significantly higher in itraconazole vs terbinafine-treated patients (53% vs 23% and 48% vs 21%, respectively). Of the 72 patients who received subsequent terbinafine treatment, 63 (88%) achieved mycological cure and 55 (76%) achieved clinical cure. CONCLUSION: In the treatment of onychomycosis, continuous terbinafine provided superior long-term mycological and clinical efficacy and lower rates of mycological and clinical relapse compared with intermittent itraconazole.     

Onychomycosis in patients with chronic leg ulcer and toenail abnormalities

Nails have a limited number of reactive patterns to disease. Accordingly, toenail changes of different etiologies may mimic onychomycosis.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of toenail onychomycosis among patients with leg ulcer and toenail abnormalities attending a dermatology clinic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted through the analysis of clinical records and results of mycological examination.

RESULTS

A total of 81 patients were included, with a median age of 76.0 years. Most ulcers were of venous etiology, followed by those of mixed and arterial pathogenesis. The mycological evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of onychomycosis in 27.2% of the patients. The etiologic agent was a dermatophyte in 59.1% of isolates in nail samples, while Trichophyton interdigitale was the most frequent fungal species (40.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

Most toenail abnormalities in patients with chronic leg ulcer were not onychomycosis. This study highlights the importance of systematic mycological examination in these patients, in order to avoid overtreatment with systemic antifungals, unnecessary costs and side effects.     

Onychomycosis: clinical,mycological and in vitro susceptibility testing of isolates of Trichophyton rubrum

BACKGROUND

Onychomycosis or nail fungal infection is the most common nail disease. Despite the wide range of studies on this condition, it remains difficult to establish the correct diagnosis and effective treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the efficacy of classical laboratory methods for the diagnosis of onychomycosis, and the in vitro susceptibility of the its main etiological agent to antifungals used in routine.

METHODS

Nail samples of 100 patients with clinically suspected feet onychomycosis were collected to confirm the diagnosis by direct mycological examination and fungal culture. In vitro antifungal susceptibility testing was performed against strains of the main dermatophyte isolated by microdilution, according to the standardized protocol (M38-A2 - CLSI)

RESULTS

Clinical diagnosis of onychomycosis was confirmed by laboratory analysis in 59% of patients. Of these, 54.2% were positive only in direct mycological examination, 44.1% in direct mycological examination and culture, and one case (1.7%) was positive only in culture, resulting in weak agreement between these tests (Kappa = 0.385; p <0.001) High minimum inhibitory concentration values of fluconazole and itraconazole were observed in 66.7% and 25.0% of isolates of T. rubrum tested. Additionally, high MIC values of terbinafine and ciclopirox was detected in only one isolate, and this was one of the strains in which in vitro activity of itraconazole and fluconazole has not been proven.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor agreement was observed between direct mycological examination and culture for the diagnosis of onychomycosis, with direct mycological examination being significantly more sensitive. Except for fluconazole, the other three antifungals tested showed good in vitro activity against clinical isolates of T. rubrum.     

A STUDY ON THE ETIOLOGICAL AGENT AND CLINICO-MYCOLOGICAL CORRELATION OF FINGERNAIL ONYCHOMYCOSIS IN EASTERN INDIA

Background:

Onychomycosis manifests itself in various forms, notably onychodystrophy, onycholysis, subungual hyperkeratosis, or nail-plate discoloration. Not necessarily nail changes mentioned here should always be of fungal origin.

Objective:

The present study is planned to get an idea about etiological agent and clinical correlation in fingernail onychomycosis.

Materials and Methods:

Nail-clipping and subungual debris of patients with above mentioned nail changes were subjected to KOH preparation. Culture was done on SDA and SDCCA media. Species identification was done by colony character, pigment production, LCB staining, and some special tests like germ tube test, etc.

Results:

Out of 85 cases, 44 cases showed the growth of fungus, amounting to 51.76% positivity. Among those 44 cases, the infective fungal agents were predominantly dermatophytes (50%), and the rest were due to yeasts (27.27%) and moulds (22.72%). Among the different species, Trichophyton rubrum (29.54%) accounted for the majority of dermatophytes; Candida albicans (11.78%) was the predominant yeast; and Aspergillus niger (18.18%) the commonest mold. No significant association could be established between the different fungal species and various clinical manifestations. Positive results were found more with fungal culture (95.45%) than KOH preparation (63.64%).

Conclusion:

The results show that nail changes are not always a reliable marker for predicting the causative organism, and relying only on the clinical manifestation (i.e., pattern of nail changes) in the diagnosis of onychomycosis is often misleading. The present study highlights the need for microbiological confirmation in case of onychomycosis.     

Terbinafine in the treatment of dermatophyte toenail onychomycosis: a meta‐analysis of efficacy for continuous and intermittent regimens

Objective To compare mycological and complete cures of terbinafine continuous and intermittent regimens in the treatment of toenail onychomycosis. Methods The PubMed database was searched using the terms “terbinafine”, “onychomycosis”, “continuous” and “pulse(d)” or “intermittent”. The inclusion criteria were head‐to‐head comparison of terbinafine pulse and continuous regimens for dermatophyte toenail infections. Risk ratios were calculated for intention‐to‐treat and evaluable patient analyses, when possible. Pooled estimates for total and subgroup analyses were calculated using a random effect model, Mantel‐Haenszel method and their probabilities were calculated with z‐statistics. Results Nine studies from eight publications were included. Two continuous regimens and four intermittent regimens were investigated. A pooled risk ratio of 0.87 was obtained for intention‐to‐treat (95% CI: 0.79–0.96, P = 0.004, n = 6) and evaluable patient (95% CI: 0.80–0.96, P = 0.003, n = 8) analyses of mycological cure, favouring continuous terbinafine. For complete cure, pooled risk ratios of 0.97 (95% CI: 0.77–1.23, P = 0.82, n = 7) for intention‐to‐treat and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.76–1.13, P = 0.44, n = 9) for evaluable patient analyses showed equality of the two regimens. The pulse regimen that demonstrated consistently comparable results to the continuous terbinafine regimen was two pulses of terbinafine 250 mg/day for 4 weeks on/4 weeks off. Conclusions Meta‐analysis of published studies of toenail onychomycosis showed that a continuous terbinafine regimen is generally significantly superior to a pulsed terbinafine regimen for mycological cure. In contrast, some pulse terbinafine regimens were as effective as continuous terbinafine regimens for complete cure.     

Prolonged Remission of Psoriasis with Azathioprine Pulse Therapy

Background:

Although various therapies used for the treatment of psoriasis are able to produce remission, yet relapses, a common problem, remains frequent. It was observed that treatment with intermittent high dose (IHD) and continuous low dose (CLD) azathioprine can produce prolonged and durable remission in psoriasis.

Aims:

To see the long term effect of azathioprine pulse therapy (APT) in psoriasis.

Methods:

Ten patients with psoriasis who has completed more than 5 years in remission with azathioprine pulse therapy are being taken in the study. They were given IHD azathioprine (500 mg on 3 consecutive days which is repeated every month) with CLD azathioprine (100 mg orally) daily in between IHD. The entire treatment schedule was divided into four phases. During phase I, treatment with IHD and CLD azathioprine was started and continued till complete clearance of lesions after which, patients proceeded to Phase II. In phase II, they continued to get treatment with IHD and CLD. After continued remission for a period of nine months, they entered into phase III, when the treatment with IHD was stopped, but CLD continued. If there was no recurrence after nine months of phase III treatment, CLD was also withdrawn, and patients were followed-up without any treatment (Phase IV).

Results:

All 10 patients completed treatment and are in remission for more than five years without any treatment.

Conclusions:

Out of 60 patients in phase IV, 10 patients were in continuous remission for more than five years, after all treatment had been stopped. Thus, azathioprine pulse therapy regimen produces prolonged remission in psoriasis.     

Plesiotherapy for non-melanoma skin cancer: innovating to overcome!

Background:

The non-surgical management of non-melanoma skin cancers is an area requiring clinical investigation. Radiotherapy has a role in treatment for a defined subset of patients.

Aims:

The application of radiotherapy is subject to availability of proper equipment, non-availability of which precludes appropriate radiotherapy in most centers in third world countries.

Materials and Methods:

The introduction of innovations is needed to circumvent this. Plesiotherapy is such a mode of therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer.

Methods:

The introduction of innovations is needed to circumvent this. Plesiotherapy is such a mode of therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer.

Results:

In this paper we present successful management of a cohort of non-melanoma skin cancer patients with plesiotherapy using stepping source¹⁹² Ir HDR source.

Conclusions:

Plesiothrapy is an effective mode of therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer.     

Severe Adverse Events Related to Tattooing: An Retrospective Analysis of 11 Years

Background:

The incidence of tattoos has been increased markedly during the last 20 years.

Aims:

To analyze the patient files for severe adverse medical reactions related to tattooing.

Settings:

Academic Teaching Hospital in South-East Germany.

Materials and Methods:

Retrospective investigation from March 2001 to May 2012.

Results:

The incidence of severe adverse medical reactions has been estimated as 0.02%. Infectious and non-infectious severe reactions have been observed. The consequences were medical drug therapies and surgery.

Conclusions:

Tattooing may be associated with severe adverse medical reactions with significant morbidity. Regulations, education and at least hygienic controls are tools to increase consumer safety.