The prevalence of fungi in fingernail onychomycosis.

Background: Fingernail onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the finger nails. It is mainly produced by yeasts, dermatophytes and molds and sometimes it shows a mixed infection. It is a cosmetic issue rather than a medical problem.

Aims: This study was conducted with the aim of exposing the fungal concept in nail diseases, to introduce nail testing which was underutilized as a diagnostic tool despite being involved in many dermatological conditions, as well as to introduce microbiological techniques in the diagnosis of nail diseases, based on the clinical parameters only.

Materials And Methods: A total of 45 samples were tested in our laboratory by using 20% KOH and culture plates of Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar (SDA) which were mixed with chloramphenicol and cycloheximide.

Results: A total of 37.78% samples were identified as positive by culture, among which 17.78% were KOH positive and 20.00% were KOH negative. 62.22% were culture negative. The predominant pathogen was yeast (64.71%), followed by dermatophytes (17.65%). A mixed infection was identified in 11.76%. Scytalidium hyalinum was identified in 5.88% of the cases. Fungi commonly presented in the middle age, between 31-40 years of age, due to trauma at the work site and in women, due to their wet work.

Conclusion: This study highlighted the yeast, genus Candida as the main pathogen which caused fingernail onychomycosis in our region. So, it is imperative to diagnose it properly by using microbiological techniques and to treat it properly.