[A case of inflammatory tinea corporis by Epidermophyton floccosum].

We report a case of inflammatory tinea corporis by Epidermophyton ( E. ) floccosum. A 73-year-old man visited our hospital with an eruption on his left arm where he wore his wristwatch. He had treated himself with a topical steroid. On KOH preparation, many hyphal elements were observed in the scale. Histological findings revealed granulomatous inflammation around hair follicles and positive fungal elements by PAS and Grocott staining in these follicles. Topical luliconazole and oral terbinafin were effective clinically and mycologically. Epidemiological survey in Japan has shown the number of cases of tinea caused by E. floccosum to be on the decrease recently. The anthropophilic dermatophyte, E. floccosum is known usually not to invade the hair follicle, and no case of inflammatory tinea corporis by this species has been reported in Japan. We consider this case of inflammatory tinea corporis due to E. floccosum to be very rare.