Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Dermatophytoses are the most frequent fungal infections of the skin. It has been reported that dermatophyte infections resistant to antifungal medications have increased in recent years. Therefore, superficial fungal skin infections that are difficult to treat have become a major health problem worldwide. Trichophyton indotineae is a newly described dermatophyte species that has been mainly isolated from patients with dermatophytosis characterized by widespread skin lesions and resistance to antifungal treatment and that causes outbreaks. T. indotineae leads to a pruritic rash that affects the large areas of the body surface such as the trunk, groin, and extremities, even in immunocompetent patients. Moreover, these patients usually do not respond to systemic terbinafine, which is the first-line treatment for dermatophyte infections and has fungicidal effects. OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to determine the body sites affected by T. indotineae infection, the types of tinea caused by T. indotineae, the drugs to which it is particularly resistant, and the treatment regimens to which it responds. METHODS: Articles in the PubMed database published between December 2020 and September 2024 were investigated by searching the word "Trichophyton indotineae". RESULTS: We reviewed 39 studies in the PubMed database that reported patients with T. indotineae infection to identify treatment regimens to which it is resistant or responsive. CONCLUSION: Treatment guidelines should be established to select the appropriate alternative antifungal medication and determine the adequate drug dose and duration in treatment-resistant fungal skin infections caused by T. indotineae. Nevertheless, the data required to develop standard treatment regimens are insufficient.