Treatment of toenail onychomycosis with 2% butenafine and 5% Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil in cream

The prevalence of onychomycosis, a superficial fungal infection that destro ys the entire nail unit, is rising, with no satisfactory cure. The objectiv e of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to examine the clinical efficacy and tolerability of 2% butenafine hydrochloride and 5% Melaleuca alternifolia oil incorporated in a cream to manage toenail ony chomycosis in a cohort. Sixty outpatients (39 M, 21 F) aged 18-80 years (me an 29.6) with 6-36 months duration of disease were randomized to two groups (40 and 20), active and placebo. After 16 weeks, 80% of patients using med icated cream were cured, as opposed to none in the placebo group. Four pati ents in the active treatment group experienced subjective mild inflammation without discontinuing treatment. During follow-up, no relapse occurred in cured patients and no improvement was seen in medication-resistant and plac ebo participants.