Comprehensive management of patients with superficial fungal infections: the role of sertaconazole nitrate.

The incidence of mycotic infections is on the rise in the United States. The failure of patients and clinicians to recognize a fungal infection early may lead to extensive, severe, and difficult-to-treat disease. Treatment decisions must include an awareness of the etiologic organism involved, the potential for long-term recurrence, symptoms such as inflammation and itching, and the importance of patient adherence to treatment. Sertaconazole nitrate, a broad-spectrum imidazole agent with antifungal, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, and antipruritic properties, is the topical antifungal agent most recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. A review of its mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetic profile, fungistatic and fungicidal activities, and clinical properties examines a substantial body of research findings that establish its efficacy, safety, and tolerability. Its use in the treatment of tinea pedis and other superficial mycotic infections is reviewed here.