[Algorithm to facilitate the management of onychomycosis]. / Algorithme de la prise en charge des onychomycoses.

An algorithm is proposed to facilitate the management of onychomycosis and ensure a good therapeutical approach. Its aim is to simplify the diagnosis process by integrating a pertinent anamnesis and physical examination with the classic tool of mycology (direct examination, culture, eventually examination by PCR), in order to give the adequate targeted treatment.

Cet article propose un algorithme afin de faciliter la prise en charge thérapeutique et diagnostique de l'onychomycose. Il vise à simplifier la démarche diagnostique jusqu'à l'identification du champignon dont dépendra le traitement. Il permet de rappeler que toute onychodystrophie n'est pas une onychomycose.

Oral terbinafine and itraconazole treatments against dermatophytes appear not to favor the establishment of Fusarium spp. in nail.

BACKGROUND: Fusarium onychomycoses are weakly responsive or unresponsive to standard onychomycosis treatments with oral terbinafine and itraconazole. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the use of terbinafine and itraconazole, which are highly effective in fighting Trichophyton onychomycoses, could be a cause of the high incidence of Fusarium nail infections. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction methods were used to detect both Fusarium spp. and Trichophyton spp. in nails of patients who had either received treatment previously or not. RESULTS: No significant microbiological differences were found between treated and untreated patients. In 24 of 79 cases (30%), Fusarium spp. was detected in samples of patients having had no previous antifungal therapy and when Trichophyton spp. grew in culture. CONCLUSION: Oral terbinafine and itraconazole treatments do not appear to favor the establishment of Fusarium spp. in onychomycosis.

[Diagnosis of non dermatophyte onychomycosis ant its relevance for treatment]. / Diagnostic des onychomycose a moisissures et importance pour le traitement.

PCR methods are reliable and suitable to in situ identify dermatophytes, yeasts and non dermatophyte moulds (NDM) in onychomycosis. Onychomycosis insensitive to standard treatment with topical agents as well as with oral terbinafine or itraconazole revealed Fusarium spp., Acremonium spp. and Aspergillus spp. as infectious agents. However, NDM onychomycosis could be efficiently cured using topical amphotericin B. In conclusion, correct fungal species identification is important in onychomycoses in order to prescribe adequate treatments since dermatophytes and moulds have different sensitivities to antifungal drugs.

Efficacious treatment of non-dermatophyte mould onychomycosis with topical amphotericin B.

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytes are the main cause of onychomycosis, but various non-dermatophyte moulds (NDMs) are often the infectious agents in abnormal nails. In particular, Fusarium spp. and other NDMs are mostly insensitive to standard onychomycosis treatment with topical agents as well as with oral terbinafine and itraconazole. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work is to report the efficacy of a topical amphotericin B solution on NDM onychomycosis in a series of 8 patients resistant to multiple conventional topical and systemic treatments. METHODS: Treatment consisted in the application of an optimized amphotericin B solution once daily to the affected nails and surrounding tissue. No mechanical debridement or medications were allowed except for trimming excessively long nails or in some cases occasionally applying urea-based cream to soften thickened nail plates. RESULTS: Onychomycosis was clinically cured in all patients after a 12-month treatment. Mycological cure was obtained in all but 1 patient. CONCLUSIONS: Topical amphotericin B is an efficacious, safe, cheap and easy-to-apply treatment which should be considered as first-line therapy for NDM onychomycosis.

Onychomycosis insensitive to systemic terbinafine and azole treatments reveals non-dermatophyte moulds as infectious agents.

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytes are the main cause of onychomycoses, but various non-dermatophyte filamentous fungi are often isolated from abnormal nails. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was the in situ identification of the fungal infectious agent in 8 cases of onychomycoses which could not be cured after systemic terbinafine and itraconazole treatment. METHODS: Fungal DNA was extracted from nail samples, and infectious fungi were identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of amplified fungal ribosomal DNA using a previously described PCR/RFLP assay. RESULTS: PCR/RFLP identification of fungi in nails allows the identification of the infectious agent: Fusarium sp., Acremonium sp. and Aspergillus sp. were found as a sole infectious agent in 5, 2 and 1 cases, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Fusarium spp. and other non-dermatophyte filamentous fungi are especially difficult to cure in onychomycoses utilising standard treatment with terbinafine and itraconazole. PCR fungal identification helps demonstrate the presence of moulds in order to prescribe alternative antifungal treatments.

Tinea capitis: no incision nor excision.

Tinea capitis is a fungal infection of the scalp and hair shaft that mainly affects prepubescent children. Its clinical aspects range from a mild noninflammatory infection resembling seborrheic dermatitis to a highly inflammatory swelling reaction (kerion). We report the cases of 2 children who underwent surgical treatment of their kerions under general anesthesia. One lesion had been incised and the other excised. This inappropriate treatment made conservative treatment after surgery more difficult. We recommend that abscesslike lesions on the scalps of children be carefully investigated by surgeons and dermatologists to determine whether they are the result of a dermatophytic infection in order that the appropriate conservative treatment can be initiated.

A kerion celsi caused by Microsporum gypseum: unusual direct mycological examination.

A case of kerion celsi caused by Microsporum gypseum is documented. The patient was a 6-year-old girl with a 2-cm purulent lesion on the scalp. Direct mycological examination of the hair showed hyphae with extremely numerous spindle-shaped macrospores. The species identification was confirmed by 28S ribosomal DNA sequencing. The presence of numerous macrospores is unusual in direct mycological examination, but could be an indication for M. gypseum.