Experience with Pulsed Treatment of Onychomycoses with Itraconazole

Overview

The authors present their clinical and mycological results of pulsed therapy with itraconazole(Sporanox R caps. ŕ 100 g produced by Janssen-Cilag) in 19 patients with onychomycosis of the feet,incl. 6 patients who had also onychomycosis of the finger nails. In all patients treatment was set at3 pulses with a daily dose of 2x 200 mg itraconazole by the oral route for 7 days. This dosage wasrepeated three times after 3-week intervals. The mycological examinations, microscopic as well ascultivation incl. clinical evaluation, were made before treatment, during treatment between indivi-dual pulses and after 12 weekly intervals 9 months after termination of treatment.The mycological cultivation examination revealed in 8.9 % cases that the disease was caused byTrichophyton rubrum, in 10.5 % by Candida albicans, in 5.2 % by Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and in5.2 % by Alternaria alternata.The therapeutic effect was manifested in the patients after 6 - 8 weeks of treatment. Restorationof a sound finger nail occurred after 5 - 6 months (83.3 %), of toe nails 10 - 12 months after the onsetof treatment (78.9 %). The patients tolerated the pulsed treatment very well, no undesirable effectswere recorded.

Key words:
onychomycoses - itraconazole - pulsed treatment