Frequency of Candida in onychomycosis.

OBJECTIVE To assess the frequency of Candida in cases of onychomycosis ata tertiary care facility in an urban area. METHODS The cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2009 to July 2010 at the Department of Microbiology, Basic Medical Sciences Institute, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi. It involved 124 patients, who were clinically diagnosed as cases of onychomycosis with the collaboration of the hospital's Dermatology Department. The specimens were processed for the diagnosis by mycological culture using Sabouraud's dextrose agar at 25 degrees C and at 37 degrees C. Observation for growth was done periodically for 4 weeks; if growth was present, the pathogen was identified by cultural characteristics and microscopy. Descriptive statistics (with frequency and percentage) of the type of fungus and organisms were evaluated. RESULTS Of the 124 cases, 52 (42%) tested positive and represented the final study sample. Candida was observed in 16 (30.76%) patients. CONCLUSION There was high frequency of Candida involvement in clinically diagnosed cases of onychomycosis.