TINEA-PEDIS - CLINICAL-EXPERIENCE AND EFFICACY OF SHORT TREATMENT

Tinea pedis is the commonest fungal infection in developed countries. Topical therapy is an accepted and successful method for the managemen t of this condition. This has usually involved the application of an a ntifungal twice or 3 times a day for 3-4 weeks to achieve a cure rate of greater than or equal to 80%. Terbinafine, a new antifungal, has sh own in a number of studies to give equally good results when applied o nce or twice daily for 1-2 weeks. In one study, a cure rate of 78% was achieved in patients with tinea pedis after a single application of 1 % terbinafine cream, demonstrating the high potency of this antifungal . Topical terbinafine has also been compared to clotrimazole for the t reatment of tinea pedis. Terbinafine 1% cream applied twice daily for 1 week was significantly superior to a 4-week course of clotrimazole 1 % cream for treating this common mycosis. Overall, the high efficacy o f topical terbinafine in treating tinea following such short-duration therapy is undoubtedly due to its fungicidal mode of action.