Tinea capitis in Trinidad

ABSTRACT

Characteristics of clinically diagnosed cases of tinea capitis from Trinidad are discribed. Tinea capitis comprised 29. percent of all dermatophytoses seen at one general hospital out-patient dermatology clinic during a one-year period. Males were more often affected than females and there was a predominance of patients of African descent. Among the dermatophytes cultured Trichophyton tonsurans was the most prevalent (52.9 percent), followed by Microsporum canis (20.0 percent) and M. audouin ii (18.6 percent). Less frequent isolates included M. gypseum (1.9 percent), T. mentagrophytes var granulare (1.4 percent) and T. rubrum (1.4 percent) (AU)