NEW THERAPIES FOR ONYCHOMYCOSIS

Until recently, the treatment of onychomycosis was discouraging becaus e of the relatively low success rate, the need for prolonged therapy, and the laboratory monitoring necessary with the traditional oral anti fungal agents, griseofulvin and ketoconazole. The advent of a new gene ration of oral antifungal drugs, including two triazoles (itraconazole and fluconazole) and an allylamine (terbinafine), has greatly improve d the outlook for patients with fungal nail infections, particularly t hose with toenail involvement. Recently, the broad-spectrum triazole, itraconazole, has been approved for the treatment of onychomycosis in the U.S. Numerous studies have demonstrated its efficacy when administ ered either continuously for 3 months or in ''pulse'' dosing. Prelimin ary findings suggest that fluconazole and terbinafine are also promisi ng, although their spectrum of activity is not as broad as that of itr aconazole.