THE PREVALENCE OF SUPERFICIAL MYCOSIS (TINEA PEDIS AND ONYCHOMYCOSIS) IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN ISTANBUL

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of tinea pedis and onychomycosis in children of elementary school age and to examine socio-demographic features that might influence the existence of both types of mycosis. Materials and methods:Atotal of 3390 female and 3768 male children aged between 6 and 14 years have been examined in seven schools. Skin scrapings and nail samples were taken from 13 students who were suspected to have tinea pedis and from 49 students who were suspected to have onychomycosis. Suspicious skin scrapings and nails were clarified in 10-15% KOH + calcofluor white through the direct microscopic method and then examined under a fluorescent microscope and assessed as positive or negative according to the existence of mycelium and / or spores. Afterwards, these samples were placed on test cultivation places onto SDAand DTM and incubated for a period of 21 days at 26-300C. Results: 11 students were diagnosed as tinea pedis and 24 were diagnosed as onychomycosis. Trichpohyton rubrum was isolated from 3 students with tinea pedis whose culture was positive, and five Candida albicans, five Candida glabrata and one Candida tropicalis cases were isolated from 11 samples with onychomycosis. Tinea pedis prevalence has been found to be 1.5% and onychomycosis prevalence has been found to be 3.3%. Differences between onychomycosis prevalence based on age have been found to be statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, it has been determined that the prevalence of tinea pedis and onychomycosis among children is low. Candida spp. was isolated from all of the 14 samples diagnosed as onychomycosis. Our study shows similar results with previous studies done in Turkey and T.rubrum continues to be the most common isolated agent.