Cargando…

High Frequency of Self-Diagnosis and Self-Treatment in a Nationally Representative Survey about Superficial Fungal Infections in Adults—United States, 2022

Data about the prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and public knowledge of superficial fungal infections in the United States are scarce. These infections are a growing concern given the emergence of antifungal drug resistance. We analyzed data from a national survey of nearly 6000 U.S. adults. Overal...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Benedict, Kaitlin, Gold, Jeremy A. W., Wu, Karen, Lipner, Shari R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9860956/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36675840
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jof9010019
Descripción
Sumario:Data about the prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and public knowledge of superficial fungal infections in the United States are scarce. These infections are a growing concern given the emergence of antifungal drug resistance. We analyzed data from a national survey of nearly 6000 U.S. adults. Overall, 114 (2.7%) participants reported having ringworm and 415 (10.0%) reported a fungal nail infection in the past 12 months; 61.4% of participants with any superficial fungal infection were self-diagnosed. Most patients (55.5%) used over-the-counter antifungals. The common nature of superficial fungal infections and the high rates of self-diagnosis and treatment indicate that community education about these infections should be considered a public health priority.