A COMPARISON OF TERBINAFINE (LAMISIL(R)) 1-PERCENT CREAM GIVEN FOR ONE WEEK WITH CLOTRIMAZOLE (CANESTEN(R)) 1-PERCENT CREAM GIVEN FOR 4 WEEKS, IN THE TREATMENT OF TINEA-PEDIS

Terbinafine (Lamisil(R)) is a synthetic allylamine antifungal which ha s been shown to be fungicidal against dermatophytes and a number of ye asts and moulds. Topical application of terbinafine 1% cream has been shown to be a highly effective short-duration therapy for dermatophyto sis of the skin. The aim of this multicentre, double-blind, parallel-g roup study was to compare the safety and efficacy of terbinafine 1% cr eam, applied twice daily for 1 week, with clotrimazole (Canesten(R)) 1 % cream, applied twice daily for 4 weeks, in the treatment of tinea pe dis. One hundred and seven patients with mycologically proven tinea pe dis received 1 week of terbinafine 1% cream, followed by 3 weeks of pl acebo, and 104 patients received clotrimazole 1% cream for 4 weeks. My cological cure (negative microscopy and culture) and effective treatme nt (mycological cure with no or minimal signs and symptoms) were asses sed 4 and 6 weeks after commencing therapy. Mycological cure rates wer e 93.5% for terbinafine and 73.1% for clotrimazole (P=0.0001) at 4 wee ks, and 97.2% for terbinafine and 83.7% for clotrimazole (P=0.001) at 6 weeks. Effective treatment rates at 4 weeks were 89.7% for terbinafi ne and 58.7% for clotrimazole (P=0.0001), and 89.7% for terbinafine an d 73.1% for clotrimazole (P=0.002) at 6 weeks. The results show that 1 week of terbinafine b.d. is more effective than 4 weeks of clotrimazo le b.d., in terms of both mycological cure and effective treatment.