Epidemiology of tinea capitis in outpatients at the Children's Hospital in Rabat (Morocco)

Objective: The aims of this report on results of a retrospective study were to identify the incidence of this pathology among outpatients at the Children's Hospital in Rabat, Morocco, the species involved, their respective prevalence, and the influence of the age and sex of the patient. Patients and methods: Between 1993 and 2007, a mycological examination was performed on 2962 patients in the dermatology service of Ibn Sina University Health Center in Rabat. Mean patient age was 35 (ages ranged from three months to 70 years). Results: Direct microscopic examination was made of all the patients' hair, followed by culture on Sabouraud medium leading to the identification of scalp ringworm in 1299 patients. The age group most affected was children under ten years of age (50% of the cases), mostly boys (M: F sex-ratio 1:14). The majority of cases of ringworm in our study were caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes with 992 cases (76.4%), followed by Microsporum canis with 174 cases (13.4%). Inflammatory ringworm was identified in 32 patients (2.5%) and 30 cases of honeycomb ringworm (tinea favosa) (2.3%). Trichophyton violaceum was more frequent among girls and M. canis was more frequent among boys. Analysis of the incidence of the different species over the years revealed a clear decrease in case of tinea favosa, a decreasing trend for T. violaceum and a significant recrudescence of M. canis. Conclusion: T. violaceum continues to be the most common species of scalp ringworm in Morocco, despite a significant increase in M. canis. Tinea favosa has been practically eradicated. © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS.