Epidemiological profile of tinea capitis in São Paulo City

Abstract

Tinea capitis is the most common fungal infection in children. The identification of the etiologic agent helps clinicians make their therapeutic choice. Studies conducted in different countries show a changing pattern of the main etiological agents according to their regions. We performed a retrospective study in the tertiary public service in São Paulo, analyzing the isolated etiological agents in patients with tinea capitis from March 2013 to May 2015. Microsporum canis was the main agent (56.6%), followed by Trichophyton tonsurans (36.6%). Despite recent migratory movements in the city, we observed no change in the causative agent of tinea capitis.

Tinea capitis: correlation of clinical presentations to agents identified in mycological culture

“…These keratinophilic fungi have an ecologic predilection regarding their adaptation to the environment and can be divided into three large groups according to their habitat: geophilic, zoophilic and anthropophilic. 1 Geophilic fungi have Microsporum gypseum as their representative, and zoophilic fungi have Microsporum canis and Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. mentagrophytes.…”

“…The clinical manifestations of tinea capitis can be divided into alopecic and inflammatory. 1 Alopecic tineas are represented by areas of alopecia, usually round-shaped and with variable itch, where hairs are fragmented, resulting in an aspect similar to tonsure — a close shave at the vertex of the scalp similar to some monks. They can be further divided into two patterns: microsporosis, where the clinical lesions are few in number, can reach large diameters and are typically associated to the dermatophytes from the genus Microsporum sp, and the trichophytosis, where the alopecic lesions are multiple and small, many times difficult to identify, and classically related to agents from the genus Trichophyton sp ( Figure 1 ).…”

Tinea capitis: epidemiological characteristics of 132 cases

“…En cuanto a la distribución por sexo hay un ligero predominio del masculino (52.3 %). En otros artículos se observa ligero predominio de uno u otro sexo, por lo que se puede concluir que no existe predominio por ninguno de ellos (7,11,13) . país (10,11,14) , América Latina y Europa Occidental (3,4,7,9,15) .…”

“…En otros artículos se observa ligero predominio de uno u otro sexo, por lo que se puede concluir que no existe predominio por ninguno de ellos (7,11,13) . país (10,11,14) , América Latina y Europa Occidental (3,4,7,9,15) . En nuestro estudio el segundo agente etiológico aislado con mayor frecuencia fue T. tonsurans, lo cual coincide con lo reportado por Nunes et al en el país (11) .…”

“…Entre los factores de riesgo asociados a la infección y posterior desarrollo de la enfermedad se encuentran el uso común de objetos contaminados, el contacto con animales domésticos (enfermos o portadores asintomáticos) o directamente de persona a persona (4) . múltiples lesiones de limites difusos, causadas casi siempre por dermatofitos antropofílicos) 2-Tiña inflamatoria o querión de Celso, producida por especies zoofílicas o geofílicas (6,7) .…”