A comparison of 2 weeks of terbinafine 250 mg/day with 4 weeks of itraconazole 1OO mg/day in plantar-type tinea pedis

Abstract

Summary This double‐blind, parallel group study compared a 2‐week course of terbinafine 250 mg/day with a 4‐week course of itraconazole 100 mg/day. A total of 190 patients were enrolled, of whom 129 were evaluable for efficacy. At week 8, 69% of patients treated with terbinafine were classified as effectively treated (mycological cure, and clinical assessment total score ≤2) vs. 67% in the itraconazole group. At week 16, however, the rating for effective treatment increased to 71% of the terbinafine group, but decreased to 55% of the itraconazole group. This difference was of borderline statistical significance (P= 0.06). The results of this study demonstrate that both drugs can be used safely, and that 2 weeks' treatment with terbinafine 250 mg daily is as effective as 4 weeks' treatment with itraconazole 100 mg daily, but with fewer long‐term relapses.

Study on Efficacy and Safety of Terbinafine Vs. Itraconazole in the Treatment of Tinea Pedis

“…In the present study, a total of 50 patients were involved. Males 39 (78%) were more predominant in the study than females 11 (22%), which is consistent with other studies done by Lachapelle JM et al 17 In this study, it was observed that tinea pedis was more common in male subjects, which was 80.0% in group A and 76.0% in group B. Dieridane A, Ammar-Khodja, et al 14 showed that 40.0% and 55.6% were males in the terbinafine and itraconazole groups, respectively. In Bangladesh, less female predominance may be because female patients report less frequently because of a lack of health consciousness and religious bindings.…”

Update on terbinafine with a focus on dermatophytoses

“…However, when followed out for 6 to 16 weeks, mycological cure rates (78%-86%) and clinical effi cacy (71%-94%) improve dramatically suggesting utility with shorter treatment durations of terbinafi ne. 104,105 Cure rates observed with terbinafi ne were comparable to those observed with itraconazole (100 mg/day); however, long-term follow-up suggested that terbinafi ne was slightly superior to 4 weeks of itraconazole treatment and signifi cantly superior to 2 weeks of treatment with the triazole. 104,105 Data from a single study each suggest that reducing (125 mg/day) or increasing (500 mg/day) the dose of terbinafi ne may not substantially alter cure rates compared traditional dosing with 250 mg/day.…”

Atypical psoriasis

“…[33][34][35] Terbinafine, because of its effective delivery to tissues with dermatophytes, including palms and soles of the feet, 36 has been approved for years for superficial dermatophytoses such as toenail onychomycoses, 20 37 tinea capitis, tinea pedis, tinea corporis, and tinea cruris. 30 It has a good skin tolerance profile despite some adverse reactions-benign side effects such as maculopapular exanthema, exacerbation of psoriasis, induced lupus, and taste disorder, as well as severe effects such as acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis, drug reactions with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms, and toxic epidermal necrolysis.…”