Clinical, epidemiological, and therapeutic profile of dermatophytosis

BACKGROUND: The cutaneous mycoses, mainly caused by dermatophyte fungi, are among the most common fungal infections worldwide. It is estimated that 10% to 15% of the population will be infected by a dermatophyte at some point in their lives, thus making this a group of diseases with great public health importance. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical, epidemiological, and therapeutic profile of dermatophytosis in patients enrolled at the Dermatology service of Universidade do Estado do Pará, Brazil, from July 2010 to September 2012. METHOD: A total of 145 medical records of patients diagnosed with dermatophytosis were surveyed. Data were collected and subsequently recorded according to a protocol developed by the researchers. This protocol consisted of information regarding epidemiological and clinical aspects of the disease and the therapy employed. RESULTS: The main clinical form of dermatophyte infection was onychomycosis, followed by tinea corporis, tinea pedis, and tinea capitis. Furthermore, the female population and the age group of 51 to 60 years were the most affected. Regarding therapy, there was a preference for treatments that combine topical and systemic drugs, and the most widely used drugs were fluconazole (systemic) and ciclopirox olamine (topical). CONCLUSION: This study showed the importance of recurrent analysis of the epidemiological profile of dermatophytosis to enable correct therapeutic and preventive management of these conditions, which have significant clinical consequences, with chronic, difficult-totreat lesions that can decrease patient quality of life and cause disfigurement.

Radiographic study of dental anomalies in brazilian patients with neuropsychomotor disorders

The purposes of this study were to investigate radiographically the dental and maxillomandibular in patients with neuropsychomotor disorders and determine the role of panoramic radiographs for quantitative and qualitative analyses of dental alterations. A total of 322 panoramic radiographs from 190 males and 132 females aged 4 to 57 years were obtained from the files of the Center for Care to Patients with Special Needs (CAPE; Dental School, University of São Paulo) and subdivided into syndromes, special needs, neurological, neuromuscular or cerebral disorders, and sequels of diseases. 32% of dental alterations were in tooth position, with 69% of this group associated with tooth rotation. The mandible accounted for 54.62% of alterations. The male gender (55.85%) and the permanent dentition (78.7%) were most affected. Panoramic radiographs were proved to be well suited for quantitative evaluation of dental anomalies of epidemiological nature. Panoramic radiographs are important diagnostic resources when applied to patients with special needs because of the difficulty to place intraoral films and held them correctly positioned during the radiographic technique.