Fatima Jehangir, Ejaz Ahmed Vohra.
Frequency of Tinea Capitis in Children 5-15 Years of Age Presenting to Primary Health Care Centre in Karachi, Pakistan.
Infect Dis J Jan ;22(3):592-5.

Objective: Primary Objective: To determine the frequency of Tinea capitis in children 5- 15 years of age at a primary care center in Karachi. Secondary Objective: To determine the risk factors for Tinea capitis in children 5- 15 years of age at a primary care center in Karachi. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at a primary health care center in Sikanderabad during 1st October 2012 - 31st May 2013. Children aged 5-15 years were included in the study. Clinical examination of the scalp was done for the diagnosis of Tinea capitis and to confirm the diagnosis, hair scrapings were collected for mycological analysis and a proforma containing demographic and laboratory information was filled. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for numerical variables. Frequencies and percentages were computed and fisher’s exact test was used to determine the association between socio-demographic factors and Tinea capitis. Results: A total of 176 children aged 5-15 years were included in the study. The estimated frequency of Tinea capitis was 24/176 (13.6%). Mean age of the children was 9.1+3 years. The clinical features included itching n=18(10%), alopecia n=42 (24%), scaling n= 58(33%), tender occipital and cervical lymphadenopathy n= 18 (10%), erythema n= 17 (10%) and discharging lesions n=7(4%) were found.Factors including poorsocio-economic status, overcrowded household , poor hygiene, habit of sharing combs and low level of parental education were significantly associated with Tinea capitis infection. Conclusion: A high frequency of Tinea capitisis was seen in our population as compared to previous study1 . Factors like low socio-economic status, poor hygienic care and overcrowding are major concerns that lead to increased frequency of Tinea capitis in children.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com