Tinea Capitis in Adults

Ornella Cervetti,Manuela Novarino,Federica Ibba,Veronica Arese,Paola Albini,Michele Panzone

doi:10.4236/aim.2014.41003

Abstract

Objective: To determine the epidemiology and the aetiology of tinea capitis in the elderly in Turin (Italy). Methods: We prospectively collected all cases of adult tinea capitis in the Dermatology Clinic of the University of Turin from January 1997 to December 2012. Results: 13 patients (4 males and 9 females) with a mean age of 56.5 years were found to be affected by tinea capitis among a total number of 508 (2.6%). Diagnosis was made on clinical appearance and mycological examination. Culture identified M. canis in 7 patients (53.8%), T. mentagrophytes in 3 patients (23.1%), T. rubrum in 2 patients (15.4%) and T. violaceum in 1 patient (7.7%). 6 cases reported contact with animals. Treatment consisted in administration of Griseofulvin at the dose of 500 mg/d or Terbinafine at the dose of 250 mg/d for at least 8 weeks. A complete recovery was observed in 10 patients, whereas 3 of them suffered from cicatritial alopecia. Conclusion: This study wants to highlight the importance of considering tinea capitis as a differential diagnosis in elderly patients with scaly scalp lesions, even though it is considered to be rare in adults.

Highlights

The dermatophytes use keratin to grow; all keratin-containing body parts can become infected [1].Tinea capitis, or scalp ringworm, is the most common dermatophyte infection of the scalp [2], and it is estimated to represent 1% of all superficial fungal infections in northern and Western Europe [3].The epidemiology of tinea capitis varies within different geographical areas in the world [2]; in Europe, the most frequent aetiological agents are M. canis [4], T. verrucosum, T. tonsurans, T. violaceum and T. sudanense [5]
All patients were in good immunity conditions, except one who suffered of diabetes and two that were in chronic oral corticosteroid therapy
Tinea capitis is common in pre-pubertal children, and it is very rare in adults [3,5]

Summary

Introduction

The dermatophytes use keratin to grow; all keratin-containing body parts can become infected [1].Tinea capitis, or scalp ringworm, is the most common dermatophyte infection of the scalp [2], and it is estimated to represent 1% of all superficial fungal infections in northern and Western Europe [3].The epidemiology of tinea capitis varies within different geographical areas in the world [2]; in Europe, the most frequent aetiological agents are M. canis [4], T. verrucosum (zoophilic species), T. tonsurans, T. violaceum and T. sudanense (anthropophilic species) [5]. The dermatophytes use keratin to grow; all keratin-containing body parts can become infected [1]. Scalp ringworm, is the most common dermatophyte infection of the scalp [2], and it is estimated to represent 1% of all superficial fungal infections in northern and Western Europe [3]. The epidemiology of tinea capitis varies within different geographical areas in the world [2]; in Europe, the most frequent aetiological agents are M. canis [4], T. verrucosum (zoophilic species), T. tonsurans, T. violaceum and T. sudanense (anthropophilic species) [5]. Contaminations by some of these species are increasing because of immigration (e.g. T_violaceum) [3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion