Fungal toenail infections.

INTRODUCTION

Fungal infections are reported to cause 23% of foot diseases and 50% of nail conditions in people seen by dermatologists, but are less common in the general population, affecting 3% to 12% of people.

METHODS AND OUTCOMES

We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of oral treatments for fungal toenail infections in adults? What are the effects of topical treatments for fungal toenail infections in adults? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to October 2013 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

RESULTS

We found 13 studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: amorolfine, butenafine, ciclopirox, fluconazole, itraconazole, terbinafine, tioconazole, and topical ketoconazole.