Abstract

Aims & objectives: Superficial mycoses are commonly encountered fungal diseases prevalent in most parts of the world. It is a fungal disease infecting hair, skin & nails. In most of the cases, it does not produce any symptoms but in some cases it has cosmetic & systemic complications. The present study was carried out to know the prevalence of various superficial fungal pathogens in our institute.
Materials & Methods: In our study, a total of 377 samples from skin department were processed & all were examined by conventional direct KOH preparation & fungal culture methods. Identification of the species was done by Lactophenol Cotton Blue mount from colony smear.
Results: in present study, males are infected more than females with a ratio of 2.14:1. Tinea corporis was the commonest clinical type (52.78%). The positivity rate of KOH preparation is 68.16% & of culture is 20.15%. Trichophyton rubrum is the commonest fungal isolate (35.26%) followed by Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The maximum number of the cases was seen in the monsoon months.
Conclusion: Male have higher fungal infection rate than females. Trichophyton rubrum is the common isolate in our geographical area. KOH preparation has higher positivity rate than culture.

Key words: Superficial mycoses, Dermatophytes, Trichophyton rubrum, Tinea corporis