Itraconazole in the Treatment of Tinea Capitis Caused by Microsporum canis: Experience in a Large Cohort

• Published in: Pediatric dermatology Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 499 - 502
• Main Authors: Ginter-Hanselmayer, Gabriele, Smolle, Josef, Gupta, Aditya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Inc 01-07-2004; Blackwell
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Antifungal Agents - administration & dosage; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Dermatology; Female; Human mycoses; Humans; Infant; Infectious diseases; Itraconazole - administration & dosage; Male; Medical sciences; Microsporum - isolation & purification; Mycoses; Mycoses of the skin; Prospective Studies; Tinea Capitis - drug therapy; Tinea Capitis - microbiology; Pediatrics; Skin disease; Mycosis; Dermatology; Microsporum canis; Fungi; Infection; Ring worm; Antifungal agent; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Scalp; Cohort study; Triazole derivatives; Fungi Imperfecti; Dermatophyte; Thallophyta; Itraconazole
• ISSN: 0736-8046; 1525-1470
• DOI: 10.1111/j.0736-8046.2004.21419.x

:  Mycotic scalp infection caused by Microsporum canis is one of the more recalcitrant disorders, with increasing incidence during the last decade. We report our experience with administration of itraconazole in 163 children (86 girls, 77 boys) with M. canis tinea capitis. Fifty‐five patients had previous treatment with terbinafine without success. In all children, the dosage of itraconazole was adjusted according to body weight, with 5 mg/kg/day given in a continuous regimen either as a capsule (116 patients) or an oral suspension (47 patients). In all children, there was both clinical and mycologic cure after a mean treatment period of 39 ± 12 days (range 10–77 days). Eleven children (6.7%) had side effects: diarrhea in five children, cutaneous eruption in four, and abdominal pain in two. Itraconazole was effective and safe for the treatment of M. canis tinea capitis.