title: Oral terbinafine and itraconazole treatments against dermatophytes appear not to favor the establishment of Fusarium spp. in nail.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fusarium onychomycoses are weakly responsive or unresponsive to standard onychomycosis treatments with oral terbinafine and itraconazole.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether the use of terbinafine and itraconazole, which are highly effective in fighting Trichophyton onychomycoses, could be a cause of the high incidence of Fusarium nail infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Polymerase chain reaction methods were used to detect both Fusarium spp. and Trichophyton spp. in nails of patients who had either received treatment previously or not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant microbiological differences were found between treated and untreated patients. In 24 of 79 cases (30%), Fusarium spp. was detected in samples of patients having had no previous antifungal therapy and when Trichophyton spp. grew in culture.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral terbinafine and itraconazole treatments do not appear to favor the establishment of Fusarium spp. in onychomycosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verrier
authors.forename: Olympia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bontems
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baudraz-Rosselet
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monod
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D003883:Arthrodermataceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005670:Fusarium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014009:Onychomycosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000077291:Terbinafine; D017211:Treatment Failure; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D009281:Naphthalenes; D017964:Itraconazole; D000077291:Terbinafine