A retrospective study of cutaneous fungal infections in patients referred to Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran during 2000-2011.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Detection of agents responsible for cutaneous mycosis may be effective in the prevention of fungal infections from environmental and animal sources. With this background in mind, in this study, we aimed to identify the distribution of cutaneous mycotic infections in patients referred to Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran during 2000- 2011.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

In total, 8694 patients suspected of superficial and cutaneous mycosis, referred to the Medical Mycology Laboratory of Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad, Iran, were recruited during March 2000-2011 and were examined in terms of fungal infections.

RESULTS

Of 8694 suspected patients, 3804 (43.75%) cases suffered from superficial and cutaneous mycosis. In total, 1936 (50.9%) patients were male, and 1868 (49.1%) were female. Malassezia infections (58.1%), dermatophytosis (33.1%), cutaneous candidiasis (6.8%), aspergillosis (1.6%), and saprophytic cutaneous mycosis (0.4%) were the most common infections.

CONCLUSION

In this study, Malassezia infections were the most common superficial and cutaneous mycoses. Therefore, it seems essential to focus on the prevention of these infections in our society.