Treatment of interdigital tinea pedis: once-daily therapy with sertaconazole nitrate.

The treatment of cutaneous fungal infections has been shown to be directly affected by the extent of patients' adherence to therapy regimens that are often cumbersome and last for several weeks. One useful alternative approach is once-daily dosing of topical antifungal agents rather than the traditional twice-daily regimen, an example of what has been called a "forgiving" regimen, designed to promote patient adherence. Sertaconazole, an imidazole antifungal agent, is known to be safe and effective when used twice daily in the treatment of tinea pedis. This report discusses a small (n=32) clinical trial designed to determine whether sertaconazole nitrate 2% cream, used once daily, is as effective as the traditional regimen. Results demonstrated that sertaconazole is as effective when used once daily for four weeks. Patients showed rapid improvement in pruritus as early as week 2, and at six weeks' follow up, all patients were free of erythema while 93.8 percent were free of pruritus; no relapses had occurred. These encouraging findings suggest that sertaconazole nitrate may be useful in a once-daily regimen and also may result in better patient adherence to therapy.