Summary
The medical term onychomycosis should be understood as chronic infection of the nails caused by a fungus. The most common causative agents are the dermatophytes and Candida species. The less common are certain types of moulds (nondermatophyte moulds or NDMs). In approximately 60–80 % of the cases, onychomycosis is due to dermatophytes. Among dermatophytes, the most often isolated causative pathogen is Trichophyton (T.) rubrum. Other common species are T. interdigitale (formerly T. mentagrophytes), Epidermophyton floccosum, and T. tonsurans. The most significant yeasts causing onychomycosis are Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis. Predisposing factors for onychomycosis include mainly diseases such as diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular arterial disease, chronic venous insufficiency, polyneuropathies of diverse etiologies, and immunosuppression, e.g., myeloproliferative diseases (such as lymphoma and paraproteinemia), HIV/AIDS, etc. Other factors facilitating the fungal infection are frequent trauma in professional sportsmen, often accompanied by excessive perspiration. The diagnostic methods that are often applied in different dermatologic departments and ambulatory units are also different. This precludes the creation of a unified diagnostic algorithm that could be used everywhere as a possible standard. In most of the cases, the method of choice depends on the specialist’s individual experience. The therapeutic approach depends mostly on the fungal organism identified by the dermatologist or mycologist. This review hereby includes the conventional as well as the newest and most reliable and modern methods used for the identification of the pathogens causing onychomycosis. Moreover, detailed information is suggested, about the choice of therapeutic scheme in case whether dermatophytes, moulds, or yeasts have been identified as causative agents. A thorough discussion of the schemes and duration of the antifungal therapy in certain groups of patients have been included.
Zusammenfassung
Der medizinische Terminus Onychomykose steht für eine chronische Infektion des Nagelapparates durch einen Pilz. Zu den häufigsten verursachenden Erregern zählen Dermatophyten sowie Candida-Arten. Zahlenmäßig weniger bedeutsam sind bestimmte Schimmelpilze (nicht-Dermatophyten-Schimmelpilze oder engl. non-dermatophyte moulds). In etwa 60–80 % der Fälle wird die Onychmoykose jedoch durch Dermatophyten verursacht. Der am häufigsten isolierte Dermatophyt ist Trichophyton (T.) rubrum, weitere relevante Spezies für eine Onychomykose sind T. interdigitale (früher T. mentagrophytes, Epidermophyton floccosum) und T. tonsurans. Die wichtigsten, eine Onychomykose verursachenden Hefepilze sind Candida albicans und Candida parapsilosis. Zu den disponierenden Faktoren, die eine Onychomykose begünstigen, zählen vor allem Stoffwechselerkrankungen, wie Diabetes mellitus, aber auch Gefäßerkrankungen, wie periphere arterielle Verschlusskrankheit, chronisch-venöse Insuffizienz, Polyneuropathien unterschiedlicher Ätiologie und immunsupprimierende Krankheiten, z. B. myeloproliferative Neoplasien (wie z. B. Lymphome und Paraproteinämien), HIV/AIDS, etc. Weitere Faktoren, die der Entstehung einer mykotischen Nagelinfektion Vorschub leisten, sind lokale Traumen bei Profi-oder Leistungssportlern, oft vergesellschaftet mit starker Hyperhidrose. In dermatologischen Kliniken und Praxen kommen verschiedene diagnostischen Methoden zur Anwendung Ein einheitlicher diagnostischer Algorithmus wäre wünschenswert, nach wie vor ist jedoch die persönliche Erfahrung des Untersuchers entscheidend für die eingesetzten Methoden. Entscheidend ist, dass der gewählte therapeutische Ansatz im Wesentlichen vom nachgewiesenen Erreger abhängt. In dieser Übersicht wird die konventionelle Diagnostik von Onychomykosen dargestellt. Außerdem wird auf moderne und neu entwickelte labordiagnostische Methoden, die zum direkten Nachweis und zur Identifizierung der nachgewiesenen Erreger der Onychomykose Einzug in die Dermatologie und Mikrobiologie gefunden haben, eingegangen. Darüber hinaus wird auf die Auswahl der erfolgversprechendsten lokalen und systemischen Therapieformen erläutert, abhängig davon, ob Dermatophyten, Hefepilze oder Schimmelpilze nachweisbar waren. Die verschiedenen Schemata der Onychomykosetherapie für bestimmte Patientenkollektive werden ausführlich dargestellt.
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Tchernev, G., Penev, P., Nenoff, P. et al. Onychomycosis: modern diagnostic and treatment approaches. Wien Med Wochenschr 163, 1–12 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-012-0139-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10354-012-0139-3
Keywords
- Onychomycosis
- Trichophyton rubrum
- MALDI-TOF MS
- Uniplex-PCR-ELISA-Test
- Antifungal therapy
- Terbinafine
- Itraconazole
- Laser treatment