Skin Fungal Infections Increasing in the United States

TOPLINE:

An estimated 72 million ambulatory visits for superficial cutaneous fungal infections (SCFIs) in the United States were recorded during 2005-2016, with an increasing trend over the years. Tinea unguium, tinea pedis, and tinea corporis were among the most common infections.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2005 to 2016, to evaluate trends in the prevalence of SCFIs during this period.
• The analysis included over 13 billion ambulatory visits to nonfederally funded community, office-based physician practices, and emergency or outpatient departments in the United States, with an estimated 1,104,258,333 annual average.
• The Jonckheere-Terpstra nonparametric test for trend was used to determine the pattern of SCFI prevalence over the 12-year period.

TAKEAWAY:

• SCFIs constituted approximately 0.54% of all annual ambulatory visits, with an estimated 6,001,852 visits for SCFIs per year and over 72 million total visits for the infections during the study period.
• Tinea unguium, tinea pedis, and tinea corporis were the most common infections, comprising 20.5%, 12.2%, and 12.0% of the total visits, respectively.
• Researchers noted an increasing trend in annual SCFIs (P = .03).

IN PRACTICE:

“We observed a high burden of SCFIs among outpatient visits in the United States and an increasing trend in their prevalence,” the authors wrote. These results, they added, “highlight the importance of healthcare providers being able to identify, treat, and, when necessary, refer patients with SCFIs, as a high burden of disease is associated with a significant negative impact on the individual and population levels.”

SOURCE:

The study was co-led by Sarah L. Spaulding, BS, and A. Mitchel Wride, BA, from the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and was published online October 30 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

The authors did not list any study limitations.

DISCLOSURES:

The lead authors were supported by Yale School of Medicine Medical Student Research Fellowships. Two other authors declared receiving consulting fees, research funding, and licensing fees outside the submitted work and also served on a data and safety monitoring board for Advarra Inc.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication. A version of this article appeared on Medscape.com.