Tinea Incognita following the Use of an Antipsoriatic Gel

Tinea incognita is a dermatophyte infection of the skin whose clinical presentation has been modified by the misuse of steroids or, as has been described recently, calcineurin inhibitors. We report a case of pustular psoriasis treated with an antipsoriatic cream, composed of topical steroids and a vitamin D3 derivative, which gave rise to a tinea incognita. Our case underlines that clinical features of fungal infection can be modified by the increasing use of self-prescribed topical therapies, usually applied to treat incorrectly ‘self-diagReceived: August 25, 2015 Accepted: September 18, 2015 Published online: October 16, 2015 Bianca Maria Piraccini, Division of Dermatology Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine University of Bologna, Via Massarenti 1 IT–40138 Bologna (Italy) E-Mail biancamaria.piraccini @ unibo.it © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel 2296–9195/15/0013–0123$39.50/0 www.karger.com/sad Established Facts • Tinea incognita is a variant of skin fungal infection. • Topical application of steroids reduces inflammatory signs in tinea incognita.