Successful treatment of tinea capitis with griseofulvin caused by Microsporum canis
Keywords:
Tinea capitis, griseofulvin, Microsporum canisAbstract
Background Griseofulvin is an antimycotic which has been used successfully as a treatment of tinea capitis caused by dermatophytes. Objective Our aim was to assess the efficacy of griseofulvin therapy in tinea capitis caused by zoophilic species, Microsporum canis. Patients and methods Nine mycologically confirmed cases of inflammatory and non-inflammatory tinea capitis were enrolled in the study. Griseofulvin therapy was started 10mg/kg once daily at night with milk for 8 weeks and the patients were followed up to 8 weeks after the completion of therapy. Results Of 9 patients, 4 were males while 5 were female children. The age ranged from 6 to 12 years. The agminate folliculitis type was noted in five patients and grey patch variety was seen in four patients. Microsporum canis was the pathogen isolated in all cases. The patients were prescribed griseofulvin. Clinical cure was seen in 89% cases while mycological cure was seen in 100% patients at 16 weeks final evaluation (8 weeks after the completion of therapy). The adverse events were few, mild and reversible in nature. Conclusion Griseofulvin was found to be effective, well-tolerated and safe therapy for tinea capitis caused by Microsporum canis.ÂReferences
Elewski B. Tinea capitis. Dermatol Clin 1996; 14: 23-31.
Hay RJ, Moore M. Mycology. In: Champion RH, Burton JL, Burns DA, Breathnach SM, eds. Textbook of dermatology, 6th edn. Oxford: Blackwell Science; 1998. p. 1277-1376.
Martin AG, Kobayashi GS. Superficial fungal infection: dermatophytosis, tinea, nigra, piedra. In: Freedberg IM, Eisen AZ, Wolff K et al., eds. Dermatology in general medicine, 5th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1999. p. 2373-88.
Hussain I, Aman S, Haroon TS et al. Tinea capitis in Lahore, Pakistan. Int J Dermatol 1994; 33: 255-7.
Aman S, Hussain I, Haroon TS. Tinea capitis: still no change in the etiological spectrum of disease in our scenario. J Pak Assoc Dermatol 2002; 12: 119-21.
Koumantaki E, Georgalla S, Rallis E, Papadavid E. Doubled dose of oral terbinafine is required for Microsporum canis tinea capitis. Pediatr Dermatol 2001; 18: 60-2.
Becker LE. Griseofulvin: symposium on superficial fungal infections. Dermatol Clin 1984; 2: 115-28.
Higgins EM, Fuller LC, Smith CH. Guidelines for the management of tinea capitis. Br J Dermatol 2000; 143: 53-8.
Bennett ML, Fleischer AB, Loveless JW, Feldman SR. Oral griseofulvin remains the treatment of choice for tinea capitis in children. Pediatr Dermatol 2000; 17: 304-9.
Lopez-Gomez S, Del Palacio A, Van Cutsem J et al. Itraconazole versus griseofulvin in the treatment of tinea capitis: a double-blind randomized study in children. Int J Dermatol 1994; 33: 743-7.
Elewski B. Treatment of tinea capitis beyond griseofulvin. J Am Acad Dermatol 1999; 40: S27-30.
Rademaker M, Havill S. Griseofulvin and terbinafine in the treatment of tinea capitis in children. N Z Med J 1998; 111: 55-7.
Haroon TS, Hussain I, Aman S et al. A randomized double-blind comparative study of terbinafine and griseofulvin in tinea capitis. J Dermatol Treat 1995; 6: 167-9.
Dragos V, Lunder M. Lack of efficacy of 6-week treatment with oral terbinafine for tinea capitis due to Microsporum canis in children. Pediatr Dermatol 1997; 14: 46-8.
Ormerod AD. What is new in therapy? Br J Dermatol 2001; 145: 691-95.
