Treatment of impetigo and ecthyma. A comparison of sulconazole with miconazole.

In a randomized, double-blind, parallel comparative study of 80 patients, impetigo and ecthyma were treated effectively by sulconazole nitrate 1% cream and miconazole nitrate 2% cream applied to lesions twice daily for 14 days. When treatment began, bacterial cultures from all pyodermal lesions yielded Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci or pathogenic staphylococci. Among the 32 sulconazole-treated impetigo patients, bacterial cultures from 26 (69%) were negative by treatment day 4, and those from all 32 (100%) were negative by treatment day 7; among the 34 miconazole-treated impetigo patients, cultures from 17 (50%) were negative by treatment day 4, cultures from 32 (94.1%) were negative by treatment day 7, and cultures from 29 (97%) were negative by treatment day 14. Each treatment promptly relieved the pyodermal signs (crusts, vesicles, pustules, bullae, and exudate). Both agents were considered to be safe and effective medications for treating impetigo and ecthyma.