title: A meta-analysis comparing long-term recurrences of toenail onychomycosis after successful treatment with terbinafine versus itraconazole.
abstract: As the most frequently used systemic antifungal agents for onychomycosis, terbinafine and itraconazole have both proved to have the conditions of recurrence in various degrees during follow-up period after end of therapy; very little is known about their comparative recurrences after long-term follow-up. We conducted a meta-analysis of available trials to compare the long-term recurrences of toenail onychomycosis after successful treatment with terbinafine versus itraconazole. Meta-analysis was performed by the Review Manager version 5.0.25. Risk ratio and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by the fixed effect model. Five trials and total 251 eligible patients were included in this meta-analysis. The combined risk ratio of the meta-analysis comparing terbinafine with itraconazole for mycological recurrence rate was 0.44 (95% CI 0.29-0.66), which suggests that itraconazole therapy is more likely to produce mycological recurrence compared with terbinafine therapy.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Dermatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University ,  Nanjing, Jiangsu ,  China.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Jiali
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014009:Onychomycosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012008:Recurrence; D000077291:Terbinafine; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D009281:Naphthalenes; D017964:Itraconazole; D000077291:Terbinafine