Chronic paronychia--putting a finger on the evidence.

At first glance it seemed a minor problem, but the look on my new patient's face suggested otherwise. His finger had been painful for months and this week it had become worse. His swollen, erythematous nail fold, absent cuticle, and mildly dystrophic nail painted a typical picture of chronic paronychia. Assuming an acute bacterial superinfection, I prescribed a course of antibiotics, but my patient needed advice on treatment of the underlying condition. Another general practitioner had arranged fungal cultures, which had grown candida. Would antifungals be the best treatment? My patient and I agreed to meet in a week to assess his response to the antibiotics and to discuss treatment of the underlying chronic paronychia.