title: Tinea capitis: temporal shift in pathogens and epidemiology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tinea capitis is the most common type of dermatomycosis in children. Its pathogen profile shows geographic variations as well as temporal shifts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 150 patients with mycologically confirmed tinea capitis treated at the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Würzburg, between 1990 and 2014 were analyzed with respect to gender, age, and pathogen spectrum. Two time periods, each 12.5 years long, were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although tinea capitis was most frequently diagnosed in children between the ages of 0 and 5, the percentage of adults (16 %) was higher than previously reported. The zoophilic dermatophyte Microsporum canis was most frequently identified as the causative agent of tinea capitis. However, there was a rise in infections caused by the anthropophilic fungi Trichophyton tonsurans and Trichophyton rubrum, and also a trend towards a lower percentage of zoophilic versus anthropophilic pathogens. Over the course of time, we observed an increase in the diversity of the pathogen spectrum. Dermatophytes such as Trichophyton soudanense, the Trichophyton anamorph of Arthroderma benhamiae, Trichophyton schoenleinii, and Microsporum audouinii were isolated either for the first time or for the first time after a long hiatus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although Microsporum canis infections still predominate, there has been an increase in anthropophilic pathogens. Given the unexpectedly high percentage of adults, tinea capitis should be included in the differential diagnostic considerations in all age groups.
authors: Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, University Hospital Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Wiebke
authors: W
authors: Ziegler
authors: Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, University Hospital Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Sigrid
authors: S
authors: Lempert
authors: Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, University Hospital Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Goebeler
authors: Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, University Hospital Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Annette
authors: A
authors: Kolb-Mäurer
mesh_terms: D003883:Arthrodermataceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D003881:Dermatomycoses; D006801:Humans; D008864:Microsporum; D014006:Tinea Capitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000302:isolation & purification