Abstract
Purpose: (i) To determine the prevalence of dermatophytosis in the study population attending the skin OPD of our institute.(ii) To identify host & epidemiological factors that affect the occurrence of disease. (iii) To isolate and identify dermatophytes from clinically suspected cases of tinea and to correlate their occurrence with the epidemiological factors. Materials and Methods: Total 260 scrapings from skin, scalp & nails were taken from clinically suspected cases of tinea attending the OPD of tertiary care hospital of Gujarat,India. Direct examination with KOH mount was done. The scrappings were cultured on SDA & identified based on their morphologies & biochemical reactions. Results: Of the total 260 specimens, KOH positivity was 34.61 % and culture positivity was 28.84%. Females (50.38%) were affected more than males (49.61%) and maximum cases of tinea were present in 31-40 years (21.46%) age group. Housewives (36.15%) and daily wagers (18.84%) were the most inflicted occupational groups. Maximum specimens were from skin (36.15%), followed by nails (33.46%) and hairs (30.38%). T. capitis and T. corporis were commonest clinical types identified, with T. capitis majorly present in paediatric (< 10 years) age group (49.29%). Maximum isolates of dermatophytes were T. violaceum(29.33%), followed by T. mentagrophytes (24%) and T. rubrum (12%). Conclusion: In India, T.mentagrophytes and T.rubrum have been found to be more common but in our study T.violaceum was the commonest dermatophyte isolated; which was due to more number of T. capitis cases. Activities that involve laborious tasks make a person more prone to dermatophytosis. Hence, better practices of self-hygiene can help reduce the incidence alongwith community education.

Key words: Culture, Dermatophytes, Superficial fungal infections,Tinea