Comparative study of tioconazole and clotrimazole in the treatment of tinea versicolor.

An eight-week comparative study of tioconazole and clotrimazole was carried out in 32 patients with tinea versicolor. Sixteen patients were treated with 1% tioconazole lotion and 16 with 1% clotrimazole solution; each drug was applied twice daily for 28 days. Clinical and mycological direct examinations were performed before treatment and on days 7, 14, and 28 of therapy. All patients underwent overall clinical evaluation 30 days posttreatment. At the end of the study, all patients were clinically and mycologically cured. During the second week of treatment, however, a significant remission in rash (P less than 0.05) was observed in the group treated with tioconazole. None of the treated patients had adverse reactions. Tioconazole is a new imidazolic agent with an intense fungicidal action. It has been found to be effective and safe and is an agent of choice for treating tinea versicolor.