Uncommon presentations of tinea versicolor

Abstract

Tinea versicolor (TV) is a common cutaneous fungal infection characterized by superficial scaling and a mild disturbance of skin pigmentation. It typically affects the chest, upper back, and shoulders. However, involvement of more unusual regions of the body such as the face and scalp, arms and legs, intertriginous sites, genitalia, areolae, and palms and soles has been reported. This report details two such cases observed at our institution: a 32-year-old woman with involvement of the popliteal fossa and a 16-year-old boy with involvement of the groin. The clinician must be aware of these variations in location and perform the appropriate diagnostic workup when lesions have the characteristic morphology of TV despite an unusual location. The etiology, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of TV are reviewed and current literature describing other instances of TV in uncommon locations is discussed.

Keywords: Malassezia; flexures; groin; pityriasis versicolor; tinea versicolor.

Figure 1.

Multiple tan plaques with fine scale over the posterior left popliteal fossa. [Copyright: ©2014 Varada et al.]

Figure 2.

Potassium hydroxide (KOH) preparation demonstrating spores and short hyphae. [Copyright: ©2014 Varada et al.]

Figure 3.

Multiple 1–2 cm salmon colored, round to oval, thin scaly plaques over the groin and medial thighs. [Copyright: ©2014 Varada et al.]