[Investigation of the prevalance of Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis in rosacea patients].

Objective: Demodex spp. is an acari that resides in the hair follicles and sebaceous glands of the skin unit. It is known that Demodex spp. may play a role in the pathogenesis of rosacea and acne. Common sites of Demodex infestation are the facial skin , forehead, cheeks, chin and nasolabial fold. This study was performed between January 2010 and December 2011. It was carried out in order to investigate the frequency of Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis among rosacea patients who presented to the Fırat University Hospital Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory.

Methods: Skin scrapings were taken from suspected lesions on anatomic regions (face, cheek and chin) in a total of 28 patients 19 (67.85%) women and 9 (32.15%) men; age range 22-58 years. They were examined under light microscopic with a dripping 15% KOH solution.

Results: The findings indicated that Demodex spp. was positive in 17 (60.7%) of 28 patients; D. folliculorm was positive in 10 (35.71%) female patients and 5 (17.85%) male patients, and also D. brevis was positive in 2 (7.14%) female patients.

Conclusion: In our country, Demodex spp. should be regarded as a leading cause of infestation among the patients with rosacea. This study suggests that investigation of Demodex spp. in all of these tissues could be beneficial.