[Yeast-like fungi on the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis].

Colonization by yeast-like flora and its composition on the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) in comparison with those on the skin of patients with skin diseases of nonatopic etiology and healthy subjects were studied. Inoculations from affected and unaffected sites of the skin were made by the contact method with the use of bacteriological plates with antibiotic-containing solid agar medium. The study revealed that 39% of AD patients, 45% of patients with other skin diseases and 3% of healthy subjects had yeast-like fungi of their skin, Candida spp. (53%) and Rhodotorula spp. (21%) occurring most frequently. In patients with a severe course of AD the tendency towards the preferable colonization of affected sites of the skin was observed: in these cases yeasts occurred 2.5-5 times more frequently than in patients with the mild and moderate course of AD.