Objective: To investigate the situation of toe deformities in elderly diabetic patients and then analyze the impact factors related to the abnormal growth of toenails. Methods: 229 cases from a community health service center in Shanghai were recruited. All of these patients accepted the foot examination, including determining peripheral vascular disease, peripheral neuropathy and the situation of toenail trimming, onychomycosis and toenail deformities. Results: There were 118 cases of elderly diabetics existing toenail deformities which accounted for 51.52%. Age, gender, peripheral vascular disease, peripheral neuropathy, methods of trimming toenails and fungal infection were factors resulting in toenail deformities. Conclusion: The community health service center should strengthen the care of toenails in elderly diabetic patients and treat onychomycosis appropriately while providing professional service of trimming toenails for the elderly diabetic patients.

Superficial fungal infections are expected to be more prevalent in renal transplant recipients because of graft-preserving immunosuppressive therapy. Here we report the case of a 45-year-old patient with widespread erosive tinea corporis transmitted by domestic animals. Sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region identified Arthroderma benhamiae (teleomorph of Trichophyton mentagrophytes) in the patient, her husband and her domestic animals. A combination therapy with systemic terbinafine hydrochloride and topically applied ciclopiroxolamine was successful.

In addition to searching for the origin of infection (in A. benhamiae almost exclusively guinea pigs, and for M. canis dogs and cats), distinguishing between the Trichophyton and Microsporum genera is most important, especially for the selection of a systemic antimycotic agent in the treatment of tinea capitis in children. In the case of M. canis terbinafine is not the first choice, but rather griseofulvin, fluconazole or itraconazole. We present a method of differentiation using Candi-Select(TM) 4. When done with a primary culture, this allows for presumptive identification within a few hours and thus prompt initiation of pathogen-specific therapy.

Dermatomycosis is one of the most common dermatological infectious diseases. In recent years, the incidence of tinea pedum, a fungal infection of the feet, was increasing due to changing lifestyles. The risk of tinea pedum infections is associated with the use of sport shoes as well as contact with public sports facilities. Transmission of dermatomycosis occurs almost exclusively through indirect contacts, meaning that contagious material initially contaminates the patients' environment and subsequently facilitates the spread of infection to others. A suitable disinfection procedure for 'fungal reservoirs' is very important in order to reduce the risk of reinfection of tinea pedum. This study investigates the effect of microwave radiation on various dermatophytes- (Trichophyton rubrum, T. rubrum var. nigricans, T. interdigitale and Microsporum canis infected cork and polyethylene sponge shoe insoles. The contaminated insoles were irradiated with various intensities and durations of microwaves. In each case, 10 colonies on cork and polyethylene sponge insoles were irradiated with the same intensity and duration, and subsequently compared with those of corresponding non-irradiated control groups. Results of three independent experiments were statistically verified using Chi-squared test for significance. We found significant differences between the various dermatophytes on polyethylene sponge insoles and also partly on cork insoles for the same irradiation intensity and duration. We were also able to show that a complete growth inhibition of all four dermatophytes occurs on both types of insoles after a 30 s exposure at 560 W, including a maximum temperature of 60 °C.

Adult-onset Still's disease is a rare disorder of unknown etiology. We report the case of a 39-year-old patient who showed the characteristic symptoms: recurrent attacks of fever, arthralgia, maculopapular rash, sore throat, and lymphadenopathy. After the possibility of an infectious or paraneoplastic process was excluded and the laboratory findings were evaluated (increased C-reactive protein, liver values, and ferritin level), the diagnosis was established according to the criteria of Yamaguchi. Therapy with steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was started successfully.