title: Tinea caput medusa: an unusual presentation of Trichophyton mentagrophytes on the scalp.
abstract: Tinea capitis has a wide variety of clinical presentations in adolescents and adults. However, the occurrence of fingerlike projections in the scalp has not been previously described. A 14-year-old girl presented with a one-year history of a painful scalp mass. Debridement of this mass revealed slender papillomatous growths resembling those seen in elephantiasis nostras verrucosa. A fungal culture grew Trichophyton mentagrophytes. We describe the first case of this unusual clinical variant of tinea capitis and hypothesize on its pathophysiological basis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Houck
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cooley
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lowitt
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003646:Debridement / Q000379:methods; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006118:Griseofulvin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D014006:Tinea Capitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D006118:Griseofulvin