title: Itraconazole compared with griseofulvin in the treatment of tinea corporis/cruris and tinea pedis/manus: an interpretation of the clinical results of all completed double-blind studies with respect to the pharmacokinetic profile.
abstract: Itraconazole is an orally active triazole antifungal which has been compared to griseofulvin in a number of double-blind trials. In dermatophytosis with a non-fixed treatment regimen for a maximum of 3 months, itraconazole 100 mg o.d. has produced a 100% mycological cure rate as compared with a 67% rate with griseofulvin 500 mg o.d. (p less than 0.01). Based on the pharmacokinetic profile, 100 mg itraconazole daily was then compared with 500 mg ultramicronized griseofulvin daily using a fixed treatment schedule of 15 days in tinea corporis and/or cruris and 30 days in tinea pedis and/or manus. In all studies in tinea corporis/cruris (n = 277), the superiority of itraconazole was shown for the clinical outcome at the last follow-up visit 2 weeks post-therapy (88 vs. 69%, p less than 0.01) and in the mycological outcome at the last follow-up visit (81 vs. 65%, p less than 0.05). In tinea pedis/manus (n = 210), the clinical response was virtually the same for the two treatment groups, but the most important finding was the mycological outcome with a significantly better result in favor of itraconazole at the end of treatment (77 vs. 61%, p less than 0.05) even more pronounced at the follow-up visit (85 vs. 48%, p less than 0.01). We conclude that itraconazole 100 mg daily in the treatment of tinea corporis/cruris and in tinea pedis/manus is significantly more effective than 500 mg griseofulvin daily when fixed treatment regimens are used. Furthermore, the best results are obtained with itraconazole 2-3 weeks after the end of treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lachapelle
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Doncker
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tennstedt
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cauwenbergh
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Janssen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006118:Griseofulvin / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D017964:Itraconazole; D007654:Ketoconazole / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014005:Tinea / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D017964:Itraconazole; D006118:Griseofulvin; D007654:Ketoconazole