Therapy with fluconazole for tinea corporis, tinea cruris, and tinea pedis.

We treated 20 patients who had tinea corporis and/or tinea cruris and 20 patients who had tinea pedis with oral fluconazole. All patients were given a single 150-mg dose of fluconazole upon entry into the study; at that time, and at each follow-up visit, clinical signs and symptoms were evaluated and mycological and laboratory examinations were performed. If clinical and/or mycological cure or significant improvement in a patient's condition was not evident at the 7-day follow-up visit, a second dose of fluconazole (150 mg) was given. A maximum of four doses, one week apart, were given. A long-term evaluation of the efficacy of fluconazole in the treatment of these infections was performed 28-30 days after the last dose was administered to each patient. For the treatment of tinea corporis and/or tinea cruris, 70% of patients required two doses, 20% required three doses, and 10% required four doses. At the long-term follow-up visit the clinical and mycological response rates were determined to be 95% cure and 5% relapse. For the treatment of tinea pedis, 20% of the patients required two doses, 20% required three doses, and 60% required four doses. For these patients, the long-term clinical response rates were 70% cure and 30% improvement; mycological response rates were 75% eradication, 10% persistence of infection, and 15% relapse. This treatment was well tolerated; no adverse effects or clinically significant laboratory abnormalities were reported.