BACKGROUND: We have little information about long-term treatment results of tinea unguium based on the treatment methods and oral antifungal agents used in dermatology. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the confirmed effectiveness and side effects of antifungal agents and to investigate the ratio of patients who completely finished the course of treatment in the practical area, not in the experimental studies. METHODS: The medical records of 684 patients diagnosed with tinea unguium from January 1985 to December 1996 in Yeungnam l.Jniversity Hospital were analysed for the results. RESULTS: The number of patients who were diagnosed with tinea unguium during this period was 684. In this study, we segregafed the patients whose outcome could be confirmed and calculated the percentage of completely treated and improved cases according to the antifungal agents used (griseofulvin-7.0%, ketoconazole-8.2%, itraconazole-9.0%, terbinafine-13.7%). We also calculated the percentage of patients who had completely finished the course of treatment (griseofulvin-6.8%, ketoconazole-7.4%, itraconazole-32.S%, terbinafine-31.8%). Among the patients whose results were unknown, more than half of patients(51.7%) had discontinued treatment within 3 weeks. The frequency of side effects of griseofulvin was 5.27a, ketoconazole 11.1%, itraconazole 6.7%, and terbinafine 6.1%. CONCLUSION: The treatment results of tinea unguium in clinical fields are different from results of previously reported studies. The percentages of completely treated and improved cases and those of patients who had completely finished the course of treatment are much lower than the results of previous experimental studies. Jt may be due to low compliance of patients and the long-term treatment course required. To increase the patients compliance and improve the results of treatment, we should explain to the patients about the disease course and duration of the treatment.
Antifungal Agents* ; Compliance ; Dermatology ; Griseofulvin ; Humans ; Itraconazole ; Ketoconazole ; Medical Records ; Onychomycosis* ; Patient Compliance* ; Tinea*

Congenital smooth muscle hamartoma(CSMH), a rare congenital benign tumor of the skin, usually appears at birth as skin colored or slightly hyperpigmented patches or plaques, sometimes with lightly pigmented vellus hairs. Histopathologically it has a marked hyperplasia of well-demarcated smooth muscle bundles in the dermis. We report a case of CSMH in a 4-month-old male infant, who had had hypertrichosis, rippling and multiple light brown colored macules on both his lower extremites since birth. Histopathologically, markedly proliferated smooth muscle buildles were scattered throughout the retucular dermis.
Dermis ; Hair ; Hamartoma* ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Hypertrichosis ; Infant ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Parturition ; Skin