Non-dermatophytic moulds and yeasts as agents of onychomycosis in a Malaysian medical centre

Abstract

Objective: Onychomycosis can be caused by numerous fungi, with geographical and temporal factors influencing the prevalence of the various aetiological agents. We set out to identify and classify the various fungi cultured from the nail clippings of patients diagnosed with onychomycosis in UKM Medical Centre, Malaysia.Methods: This retrospective study involved cases of onychomycosis diagnosed from January 2013 to July 2014. For each fungus, mycological diagnosis was achieved by direct microscopic examination of the nail clipping(s) followed by morphological identification of the fungus following culture on various artificial media.Results: A total of 180 fungal isolates were cultured from the nail clippings of 146 different patients. Non-dermatophytic moulds accounted for most of the fungal isolates (59.8%), followed by yeasts (35.7%) and dermatophytes (4.5%). Overall, Candida was the most frequently isolated fungal genus and Aspergillus was the most frequently cultured mould genus. Out of the three dermatophyte genera, two (Microsporum and Trichophyton) were isolated.Conclusion: In our centre, non-dermatophytic moulds and yeasts are a lot more prevalent as causative agents of onychomycosis than dermatophytes.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.16(3) 2017 p.380-383