Dermatophyte infections in patients attending a tertiary care hospital in northern Italy

We studied dermatophyte infections in patients attending the Dermatology Outpatients Clinic of S. Matteo hospital Pavia, Italy, during the period 2004-2006. A total of 100 samples were collected from 95 patients; 97 dermatophytes and 3 keratinophylic fungi were isolated. Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequent dermatophyte isolated (42.3%), followed by Microsporum canis (31%), T. mentagrophytes (14.5%) and M. gypseum (9.2%). Less frequently isolated were Epidermophyton floccosum and T. violaceum. The most common dermatophyte infections included tinea corporis, tinea pedis, tinea unguium, tinea capitis and tinea cruris. Zoophilic dermatophytes were most commonly recovered from children and adolescents with tinea capitis and tinea corporis. Anthropophilic species were identified mostly in adults with tinea pedis, tinea cruris and onychomycosis.