A 4-year survey of dermatomycoses in Tehran from 2006 to 2009

Summary Objective Dermatomycoses are considered as an important group of fungal diseases with worldwide distribution. This study was performed to analyze the spectrum of dermatomycoses in Tehran during a 4-year period from 2006 to 2009. Patients and methods A total of 12461 patients were investigated for mycoses. Of these, 4871 cases were positive. Plucked hairs, skin and nail scraping were examined and identified by direct microscopy and culture. Results From 4871 patients, 4015 strains were identified including dermatophytes (2635 cases, 65.7%), yeasts (1210 cases, 30.1%) and molds (170 cases, 4.2%). Among the dermatophytes, the most common pathogen isolated was Trichophyton rubrum (28.7%), followed by Epidermophyton floccosum (25.0%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (23.8%) and Trichophyton tonsurans (11.5%). Among the yeast-like fungi, a predominance of Candida spp. (54.5%) was observed. Of these, 29.3% were C. albicans . Aspergillus spp. was the most prevalent isolated mold (71.8%). Conclusion Our results have demonstrated epidemiologic trends of dermatomycoses and their causative agents in recent years in comparison with the past records in Tehran and other parts of the world. This noticeable information can help to develop fungal diagnosis as well as more effective therapeutic methods.