Romano Mattei*, Gabriele Marchi, Nicola Simoncini, Letizia Paganucci, Giulia Cappellini, Giulia Benelli, Elena Rossi, Jessica Bacigalupi and Moreno Ferroni

Chemical-Clinical and Microbiological Analysis, Laboratory Eurofins Centro Medico LAMM, Italy

*Corresponding Author: Romano Mattei, Chemical-Clinical and Microbiological Analysis, Laboratory Eurofins Centro Medico LAMM, Italy.

Received: January 21, 2025; Published: February 19, 2025

Abstract

Superficial mycoses affecting the skin, nails, and hair are among the most common fungal infections. This study aimed to investigate the etiological agents responsible for superficial mycoses in select provinces of the Tuscany region, Italy, over a four-year period, and to evaluate the effectiveness of molecular diagnostic methods for dermatophytosis. The study included 1,250 outpatients with clinically suspected superficial mycoses who visited the Eurofins Medical Center in Lucca, Italy, between 2020 and 2024. The results showed that 851 samples tested negative, while 399 were positive. Among the positive cases, 234 were caused by dermatophytes, 123 by yeast-like fungi, and 37 by Non-Dermatophyte Moulds (NDM). The most frequently isolated dermatophyte was Trichophyton rubrum (65.8%), while Candida albicans was the predominant yeast (82%), and Fusarium species were the most common NDM (37%). In 2021, we introduced the DERMADYN IVD KIT, a real-time multiplex PCR assay designed to detect seven dermatophyte species: Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton tonsurans, Trichophyton violaceum, the Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex, Microsporum canis, Microsporum (Nannizzia) gypseum, and Epidermophyton floccosum. The DERMADYN multiplex assay demonstrated a sensitivity of 90.7%, specificity of 99.2%, positive predictive value of 97.5%, negative predictive value of 96.8%, and overall accuracy of 97.0%.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the etiological agents responsible for superficial mycoses in select provinces of the Tuscany region, Italy, over a four-year period, and to evaluate the effectiveness of molecular diagnostic methods for dermatophytosis.

Keywords: Dermatophytes; Yeasts; Non-Dermatophyte Moulds; Culture; Real-Time Multiplex PCR

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Citation

Citation: Romano Mattei., et al. “Epidemiology of Superficial Mycoses and the Role of Multiplex Real-Time PCR in Diagnosing Dermatophytosis in Our Setting".Acta Scientific Microbiology 8.3 (2025): 37-43.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Romano Mattei., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.