Bifonazole (Mycospor (R) cream) in the treatment of moccasin-type tinea pedis. Comparison between combination therapy of bifonazole cream+10% urea ointment (Urepearl (R)) and occlusive dressing therapy with the same agents

Moccasin-type tinea pedis(MTTP) is a hardly curable superficial dermatomyco sis primarily characterized by hyperkeratosis of the sole. In this study, w e compared the usefulness of combination therapy of bifonazole (Mycospor(R) cream) + 10% urea ointment (Urepearl(R)) (overlapping application group = group I) with occlusive dressing therapy with the same agents (group II) in the treatment of MTTP, and obtained the following results. (1) The clinical improvement rate (percentage of "marked improvement" and " moderate improvement") was 60.4% in group I and 83.3% in group II. (2) The mycological eradication rate was 48.7% in group I and 82.1% in grou p II after 4 weeks of treatment and 90.9 and 96.9%, after 12 weeks of treat ment, respectively. (3) The clinical utility rate (percentage of "very beneficial" and "benefic ial") was 83.3% in group I and 93.8% in group II. These results indicate the superiority of both combination therapy of bifon azole + 10% urea ointment (overlapping application group) and occlusive dre ssing therapy with the same agents in terms of efficacy and safety for the treatment of MTTP, and suggest that they can be recommended for treatment o f patients for whom it is difficult to use oral antimycotic agents or for p atients who fail to respond to oral medications alone.