title: Epidemiology of deep cutaneous fungal infections in Korea (2006-2010).
abstract: Deep cutaneous fungal infections (DCFI) occur worldwide and their prevalence is influenced by personal factors of the affected patients and the geographic and cultural features. Surveillance studies of DCFI with respect to the various clinical backgrounds of affected patients can ultimately help to improve their outcome. Expanding on our previous study, we performed a retrospective analysis of patients with DCFI who were treated in a group of university teaching hospitals in Korea to determine the trends within a 5-year period. A retrospective medical record review of patients with DCFI treated between 2006 and 2010 at 16 university teaching hospitals located throughout Korea was performed. Among the 51 cases of DCFI (median patient age, 47.0 years), opportunistic infections in immunocompromised hosts accounted for half. Patients in this group included 11 who were transplant recipients and 12 with malignancies. Overall, Candida (13/51) was the most common causative organism, followed by Sporothrix (12) and Aspergillus (6). Papuloplaques and nodular lesions were the typical presentation, with maculopatches and ulcers also occurring in considerable numbers. Ten patients had systemic involvement. Eight immunocompromised patients did not recover from the disease despite systemic antifungal treatment. Our results highlight the equal involvement of opportunistic and primary pathogens in DCFI, as determined in cases from a 5-year period. Especially in immunocompromised hosts with non-specific skin findings, clinical suspicion is important because failure to diagnose a DCFI causes significant morbidity and possibly even death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Dermatology, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myoung Shin
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Kyung
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Mi Woo
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kee-Chan
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Beom Joon
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Wook
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Son
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Hyun
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri, Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Youn
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Baik Kee
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Moon Bum
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Kee Suck
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: You Chan
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Kwandong University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung In
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Ro
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Joon Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Jee Bum
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: candidiasis; dermatomycoses; fungi; mycoses; opportunistic infections