• Saeed Aref, Sara Nouri, Hamideh Moravvej, Mojtaba Memariani, and Hamed Memariani.
• Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
• Arch Iran Med. 2022 Aug 1; 25 (8): 502507502-507.

BackgroundDermatophytosis still remains a major public health concern worldwide, particularly in developing countries. This study was undertaken to determine the etiological and epidemiological factors of dermatophyte infections in Tehran, Iran.MethodsA total of 1530 patients clinically suspected of cutaneous fungal infections were examined in two hospitals over a period of 10 years (2010-2020). Samples were analyzed using direct microscopic examination and culture. Data regarding age, gender, and clinical manifestations were also recorded.ResultsOut of 1530 cases examined, dermatophytes were detected in 493 (32.2%) patients. Of these patients, 288 (58.4%) were males and 205 (41.6%) were females. The most affected age group was the 25-44 years old (31.6%). Tinea corporis (n=134) was the most prevalent type of ringworm, followed by tinea cruris (n=131), tinea pedis (n=90), tinea manuum (n=65), tinea unguium (n=29), tinea faciei (n=20), tinea capitis (n=18), and tinea barbae (n=2). Both tinea cruris (P<0.001) and tinea pedis (P=0.002) had a significant association with male gender. As for etiological agents, Trichophyton mentagrophytes (29.0%) was the most frequent isolate, followed by Trichophyton tonsurans (25.8%), Trichophyton rubrum (25.3%), Epidermophyton floccosum (6.9%), Trichophyton verrucosum (4.9%), Microsporum audouinii (4.5%), Microsporum canis (2.0%), and Trichophyton violaceum (1.6%).ConclusionDermatophytes are still the prevailing causes of fungal infection of the skin, hair, and nails in Iran. Further studies with larger samples sizes and inclusion of diverse locations would yield more accurate results.© 2022 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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