[Tinea capitis: clinical features and therapeutic alternatives]. / Tinea capitis: aspectos clínicos y alternativas terapéuticas.

A descriptive observational and cross-sectional study was carried out. The clinical characteristics, etiologic agents, treatments and outcome of 33 cases of tinea capitis in the Mycology Unit at Francisco J. Muñiz Hospital of Buenos Aires City between January 2015 and December 2019 were analyzed. The median age of the patients was 7 years, 21 of whom were male, 3 were HIV-positive and 22 had pets. The isolated etiologic agents were the following: Microsporum canis in 22 cases, Trichophyton tonsurans in 8, Nannizzia gypsea in 2 and Trichophyton mentagrophytes in one patient. Suppurative tinea capitis (krion Celsi) was detected in 10 cases and the same number of patients presented other skin locations of their dermatophytosis in addition to those in the scalp. Twenty-one cases were orally treated with griseofulvin and 12 with terbinafine. Those patients with suppurative tinea capitis received drops of betamethasone by mouth besides the antifungal drugs. All patients had good clinical and mycological response to the treatments, all lesions disappeared, and mycological studies turned negative by the end of the treatments. We conclude that both drugs were effective for the treatment of tinea capitis; however, lesions in those cases receiving terbinafine involuted more slowly.

Fluconazole and amphotericin B susceptibility testing of Cryptococcus neoformans: Results of minimal inhibitory concentrations against 265 isolates from HIV-positive patients before and after two or more months of antifungal therapy

La frecuencia de la criptococosis en los pacientes con sida sigue siendo alta en Argentina, a pesar de contar con terapia antirretroviral de alta eficacia. Sin tratamiento, esta micosis es habitualmente fatal.En la última década, el esquema terapéutico empleado para la criptococosis en el Hospital de Infecciosas “F. J. Muñiz” ha consistido en la administración de anfotericina B (AMB) seguida por fluconazol (FCZ), ya que la 5-fluorocitosina no se comercializa en Argentina. En un número considerable de pacientes no se negativizan los cultivos en 2–3 semanas de iniciada la terapia antifúngica, tal como sería deseable, y es posible aislar Cryptococcus neoformans en diferentes muestras clínicas aún después de dos ó más meses de tratamiento, inclusive en casos que mejoran clínicamente.El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el perfil de sensibilidad de aislamientos de C. neoformans obtenidos de 116 pacientes a las dos drogas mencionadas y compararlos con los de 149 aislamientos de los mismos enfermos después de, al menos, dos meses de tratamiento.Pudimos comprobar que la concentración inhibitoria mínima (CIM) de AMB fue⩽1μg/ml para los 265 aislamientos antes y después del tratamiento.La CIM de FCZ antes de iniciada la terapia fue ⩽8μg/ml en todos los casos. Solamente un aislamiento de un enfermo que presentó una recidiva mostró resistencia in vitro a esta droga (CIM⩾64μg/ml), y otros cuatro mostraron sensibilidad dosis dependiente (CIM 16–32μg/ml): tres de ellos de pacientes con recidivas y el cuarto de un enfermo que continuó con cultivos positivos durante largo tiempo. Estos valores no tuvieron correlación con la evolución de la micosis, como ya ha sido señalado en otras publicaciones(AU9

Cryptococcosis, a fatal disease without appropriate treatment, is still one of the major opportunistic mycoses in AIDS patients in Argentina despite the availability of high active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART).Over the last decade, drugs employed in the treatment of disseminated cryptococcosis at Infectious Diseases Hospital “F.J. Muñiz” included amphotericin B (AMB) followed by fluconazole (FCZ), due to the fact that flucytosine was not available in Argentina during this period. A considerable number of patients did not negativize cultures after 2–3 weeks of treatment as it was expected, and in some of them the isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans in different samples was still possible after 2 or more months of adequate therapy and even in cases with clinical improvement.The aim of this study was to establish the susceptibility profile of C. neoformans clinical isolates to those antifungals and to investigate whether there were any changes after at least 2 months of treatment. A total of 265 strains were studied (116 obtained from patients at diagnosis and 149 corresponding to the same individuals 2 months or more after receiving therapy). Susceptibility patterns before treatment to AMB showed MICs ≤1μg/ml for all the strains, and no increase was seen after treatment.All the strains were susceptible to FCZ (MIC≤8μg/ml) at diagnosis; but in a group with relapses or those who did not negativize cultures, one isolate became resistant after therapy (MIC≥64μg/ml) and other four showed dose-dependent susceptibility (MIC 16–32μg/ml). There was no relation between these results and clinical outcome as it was pointed out in other publications(AU)

Fluconazole and amphotericin B susceptibility testing of Cryptococcus neoformans: results of minimal inhibitory concentrations against 265 isolates from HIV-positive patients before and after two or more months of antifungal therapy.

Cryptococcosis, a fatal disease without appropriate treatment, is still one of the major opportunistic mycoses in AIDS patients in Argentina despite the availability of high active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). Over the last decade, drugs employed in the treatment of disseminated cryptococcosis at Infectious Diseases Hospital "F.J. Muñiz" included amphotericin B (AMB) followed by fluconazole (FCZ), due to the fact that flucytosine was not available in Argentina during this period. A considerable number of patients did not negativize cultures after 2-3 weeks of treatment as it was expected, and in some of them the isolation of Cryptococcus neoformans in different samples was still possible after 2 or more months of adequate therapy and even in cases with clinical improvement. The aim of this study was to establish the susceptibility profile of C. neoformans clinical isolates to those antifungals and to investigate whether there were any changes after at least 2 months of treatment. A total of 265 strains were studied (116 obtained from patients at diagnosis and 149 corresponding to the same individuals 2 months or more after receiving therapy). Susceptibility patterns before treatment to AMB showed MICs < or =1 microg/ml for all the strains, and no increase was seen after treatment. All the strains were susceptible to FCZ (MIC< or =8 microg/ml) at diagnosis; but in a group with relapses or those who did not negativize cultures, one isolate became resistant after therapy (MIC> or =64 microg/ml) and other four showed dose-dependent susceptibility (MIC 16-32 microg/ml). There was no relation between these results and clinical outcome as it was pointed out in other publications.