Itraconazole in the treatment of tinea capitis.

Seventy-one patients with tinea capitis were treated with itraconazole (50 or 100 mg once daily) for a median period of six weeks in an open multicenter study. Many of the patients were children. Of those patients treated with itraconazole 100 mg, 93 percent showed a clinical response at the end of treatment. This increased to 94 percent two months later. The mycologic cure rate at the end of treatment was 57 percent. At the final visit this had increased to 89 percent. Patients taking 50 mg itraconazole also responded to treatment, but to a lesser degree: only 67 percent showed a clinical response at the final visit. The corresponding mycologic cure was 60 percent. Only one patient reported a side effect while taking itraconazole (papular eruption) and it is uncertain whether this was related to treatment. It was concluded that both treatment schedules were effective and safe for children with tinea capitis.