Abstract
BACKGROUND: Intertrigo is often underdiagnosed in obesity. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of intertrigo in obesity and assess the efficacy of a moisture-wicking fabric (MWF) with antimicrobial silver. METHODS: Intertrigo symptoms were evaluated in patients with severe obesity, and the effect of MWF application was assessed in a subset of these patients after 5 or 10 days of use. RESULTS: In inpatients with obesity (n = 2.778, mean age 63.9 ± 13.3 years, BMI 43.4 ± 6.8 kg/m(2)), intertrigo lesions were found in 15.9% under the breast (37.4%), abdomen (19.0%), and inguinal area (9.6%). It was more prevalent in women (12.3%), especially among patients older than 65 years (50.9%), with a mean BMI of 46.4 ± 7.3 kg/m(2), waist circumference of 129.6 ± 15.2 cm, and mean fat mass of 51.1% ± 6.2%. A subset of 40 patients with intertrigo was randomly divided into two groups: one treated with MWF (mean age 57.0 ± 14.2 years, BMI 46.4 ± 8.2 kg/m(2)) and the other with traditional treatment (mean age 62.0 ± 14.1 years, BMI 49.9 ± 7.5 kg/m(2)). The MWF treatment resulted in significantly faster symptom resolution (6.0 ± 2.4 days for MWF vs. 11.0 ± 3.9 days in control group; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We underline the need for intertrigo screening in patients with obesity, especially in those with risk factors, such as female, older, and higher BMI. The use of a novel MWF effectively alleviates symptoms within a short treatment period and should be considered as an optional intertrigo treatment.