A STUDY ON THE MYCOLOGICAL PROFILE OF ONYCHOMYCOSIS

BACKGROUND: Onychomycosis refers to fungal infection of nails with various etiological agents, involving dermatophytes, yeasts and moulds. It constitutes an important health problem because of its rising prevalence and under-diagnosis especially in developing countries. AIMS: To analyse the mycological and cultural characteristics of onychomycosis with respect to the various etiological agents. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Nail samples collected from patients attending the dermatology clinic of Dr B.R Ambedkar medical college were processed in the microbiology department of Dr B.R Ambedkar medical college. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nail clippings and subungual scrapings of patients with onychomycosis were subjected to KOH preparation. Culture was done on Sabouraud's dextrose agar medium and Sabouraud's dextrose agar with 5% chloramphenicol and cycloheximide. Species identification was done by colony characteristics, pigment production, slide culture and LPCB stain. RESULTS: Out of 98 cases, 73 showed the growth of fungus, amounting to 74.50% positivity. Among those 73 cases, the infective fungal agents predominantly were dermatophytes (54.80%), and the rest were due to yeasts (23.30%) and moulds(22% ). Among the different species, Trichophyton rubrum (43.84% ) accounted for the majority of dermatophytes; candida albicans (16.44% ) was the predominant yeast; and aspergillus niger (16.44% ) the commonest mould. The age group most commonly affected was 16-30yrs and males were commonly affected in our study. CONCLUSION: The present study highlights the need for microbiological confirmation in case of onychomycosis for appropriate management of onychomycosis cases and further epidemiological study.