TY - JOUR AU - Margarida Rato AU - Adelina Costin AU - Constança Furtado AU - Cristina Sousa AU - Cristina Toscano AU - Cristina Veríssimo AU - Felicidade Trindade AU - Filipa Tavares Almeida AU - Glória da Cunha Velho AU - Goreti Catorze AU - Inês Raposo AU - Joana Selada AU - João A Ferreira AU - Judite Batista AU - Luis Santos AU - Manuel Sereijo AU - Manuela Silva AU - Margarida Apetato AU - Maria Sanches AU - Miguel Costa-Silva AU - Paulo L Filipe AU - Paulo Santos AU - Pedro D. Fonseca AU - Rosa Mascarenhas AU - Rui Bajanca AU - Virginia Lopes AU - Viviana Lewis AU - Maria da Luz Duarte AU - Célia Galhardas AU - Margarida Anes PY - 2018/10/05 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Epidemiology of Superficial Fungal Infections in Portugal: 3-Year Review (2014-2016) JF - Journal of the Portuguese Society of Dermatology and Venereology JA - SPDV VL - 76 IS - 3 SE - Original Articles DO - 10.29021/spdv.76.3.910 UR - https://revista.spdv.com.pt/index.php/spdv/article/view/910 AB - Introduction: Superficial fungal infections are the most frequent infectious dermatoses and their incidence continues to increase. Dermatophytes are the principal agents presenting, however, a variable geographic distribution.Material and Methods: This study aimed to characterize the epidemiology of superficial fungal infections diagnosed in Dermatology departments/ units of the Portuguese National Health System between January 2014 and December 2016, through a retrospective analysis of the results of positive cultures performed during this period.Results: A total of 2375 isolates from 2319 patients were studied. The most frequently isolated dermatophyte was Trichophyton rubrum (53.6%), which was also the main cause of glabrous skin tinea (52.4%) and of onychomycosis (51.1%). In relation to tinea capitis, Microsporum audouinii was the most prevalent agent globally (42.6%), followed by Trichophyton soudanense (22.1%). While in the Lisbon metropolitan area these dermatophytes were the main causative agents, in the North and Center regions of Portugal, Microsporum canis was the most frequent agent (58.5%). Yeasts were the main agents isolated from onychomycosis of the hands (76.7%).Conclusion: The results of this study are globally in agreement with the scientific literature. Trichophyton rubrum is the most frequent dermatophyte overall. As for tinea capitis, in the Lisbon metropolitan area, the imported anthropophilic species assume particular importance. ER -