Exfoliative dermatitis due to dermatophytosis

Abstract

Exfoliative dermatitis (ED) or erythroderma is defined as diffuse erythema and scaling of the skin involving more than 90% of the total body skin surface, which can be caused by variety of systemic and cutaneous diseases, such as infection, including dermatophytosis. Dermatophytosis is a superficial fungal infection of keratinized tissue caused by dermatophytes. There are only few case reports of ED due to dermatophytosis in literature. A 39-year-old male present with history of diffuse erythematous macules and scales almost on entire body due to dermatophytosis was reported. The diagnosis of dermatophytosis was confirmed by direct microscopic examination, fungal culture, and histopathological examination. Patient was treated with 2% ketoconazole shampoo and two pulses of 1-week of 200 mg itraconazole twice a day for each month. Clinical improvement was showed on the 7th day of observation characterized by decreasing of erythematous macules and scales. Mycological and clinical improvements were obtained on the 29th day of observation. The etiology of ED should be determined in order to give an appropiate treatment.