[Effectiveness of oral treatment with terbinafine in a guinea pig model of tinea pedis].

In order to perform a preclinical evaluation of effectiveness of oral terbinafine (TBF) in tinea pedis, an animal model was produced using guinea pigs by experimentally infecting the plantar skin with Trichophyton mentagrophytes. TBF was administered orally to groups of the infected guinea pigs once-a-day for 4 consecutive weeks. The therapeutic efficacy was assessed on the basis of recovery of fungal cultures from the plantar skin. The group of guinea pigs treated with 12.5 mg/kg/day of TBF resulted in complete cure. The animal group treated with 3.13 mg/kg/day of TBF showed significantly better mycological response to the therapy than the group treated with 12.5 mg/kg/day of griseofulvin. These results suggest clinical usefulness of oral TBF for the treatment of tinea pedis.