title: Pityriasis versicolor: clinical-epidemiological characterization of patients in the urban area of Buerarema-BA , Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pityriasis versicolor (PV) is a cutaneous pigmentation disorder caused by a lipophilic yeast of the genus Malassezia sp. It is a superficial mycosis characterized by well-defined, slightly scaly skin lesions of variable color. In Brazil, the number of reported cases is small, and there are few epidemiological studies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  to assess incidence, characteristics of the lesions, effectiveness of the Zileri's Sign procedure, and the epidemiological profile of PV in the urban area of Buerarema - Bahia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Biological samples were collected on pre-established days at Basic Health Care Units from July to September 2010. Sample collection was followed by laboratory diagnosis using Porto's Method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 158 patients with suspected PV participating in the study, 105 (66.5%) were positive; 72 (68.6%) were female and 33 (31.4%) were male. Sex and location of lesions showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05). The region with the highest rate of cases of PV was found to be the center of the city, with 40.9% of diagnosed cases. The most affected age group was between 10 and 19 years. There was a significant association between the results produced through Zileri's Sign and Porto's Method in relation to positive and negative results (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed a higher prevalence of PV among individuals at puberty. The Zileri's Sign method proved to be counterproductive, because it showed low efficacy as a method for clinical diagnosis, yielding negative results for 36 (34.3%) patients who had been diagnosed with PV through laboratory examination.
authors.affiliation: State University of Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilheus, BA, Brazil. julianosantana20@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Juliano Oliveira
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.forename: Fernanda Luiza Andrade de
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Azevedo
authors.forename: Pedro Costa
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Campos Filho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008290:Malassezia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014010:Tinea Versicolor / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014505:Urban Population