Onychomycosis: predisposed populations and some predictors of suboptimal response to oral antifungal agents

The population groups predisposed to onychomycosis and factors associated w ith a poor response to antifungal therapy may be subdivided into (a) geneti c, (b) environmental, (c) systemic conditions, (d) local nail characteristi cs, and (e) other miscellaneous items. By paying attention to the scenarios that may lead to a suboptimal response to the therapy and a higher probabi lity of relapse of the onychomycosis, it may be possible to improve the ove rall cost-effectiveness of treatments for onychomycosis. Besides attempting to achieve a cure when treating onychomycosis it is important to take step s to prevent reinfection with fungal organisms.