Superficial fungal infections seen at the National Skin Centre, Singapore

Abstract

Cutaneous fungal infections are common in Singapore. The National Skin Centre is a tertiary referral centre for dermatological diseases in the country, and sees more than 2,500 cases of superficial fungal infections annually.

Aim: This study analyses data collated from the centre's medical record office as well as fungal culture results from the mycology laboratory.

Results: From 1999 to 2003, there were a total of 12,903 cases of superficial fungal infections seen at the centre. The majority of patients (n=9335) (72.3%) were males. The most common infection was tinea pedis (n=3516) (27.3%), followed by pityriasis versicolor (n=3249) (25.2%) and tinea cruris (n=1745) (13.5%). Candidal infections were also common (n=1430), the majority of which were cases of candidal intertrigo. There were very few cases of tinea capitis, which is uncommon in Singapore. The number of cases of onychomycosis has shown a rising trend over the past 5 years. Trichophyton rubrum was the most prevalent fungal pathogen isolated from all cases of superficial fungal infections of the skin, except for tinea pedis, where Trichophyton interdigitale was the most frequently isolated organism. Dermatophytes remain the most commonly isolated fungal pathogens isolated in toenail onychomycosis, whilst Candida species accounted for the majority of isolates in fingernail onychomycosis.

Conclusion: Current epidemiologic trends of superficial fungal infections in Singapore show some similarities to recent studies from the United Kingdom and United States.