Search

Seventy patients with tinea cruris or tinea corporis were treated with naftifine cream 1% or vehicle once daily for 4 weeks in this double-blind, randomized study. After two weeks, the patients using naftifine had a significantly higher mycologic cure rate than the vehicle-treated patients (79% vs. 31%, p less than 0.001), and they showed significantly better resolution of signs and symptoms. Statistically significantly differences favoring naftifine over its vehicle were found throughout the treatment period and 2 weeks posttreatment.

The topical antifungal agent naftifine has shown considerable potency against a broad spectrum of dermatophytes. In this study, an in vitro penetration test in human cadaver skin and an in vivo tape-stripping test were used to evaluate the penetration and antifungal activity of naftifine gel 1 percent and naftifine cream 1 percent compared with other antifungal agents. In both models, Trichophyton rubrum and T. mentagrophytes were the fungal species. Results show that naftifine gel 1 percent and naftifine cream 1 percent, in vitro and in vivo, penetrate the stratum corneum in concentrations that inhibit the growth of both fungal species. Following penetration in vitro, naftifine gel and cream were significantly more active against T. rubrum than econazole nitrate cream 1 percent. Following penetration in vivo, naftifine gel and cream were as active as econazole nitrate cream 1 percent and clotrimazole cream 1 percent against T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes.

Naftifine, a member of a new class of synthetic antifungal drugs, the allylamines, was evaluated for the treatment of cutaneous candidiasis. In a double-blind, parallel-group clinical trial, sixty patients with cutaneous candidiasis were randomly assigned to receive either naftifine cream 1 percent or its vehicle twice a day for three weeks. Two weeks after the end of therapy, 77 percent of the naftifine-treated patients were mycologically cured (negative results on potassium hydroxide preparations and culture) and had no clinically apparent disease, compared with 3 percent of the patients treated with vehicle (p less than 0.001). Side effects reported with naftifine cream were few and minor.

Data from 104 subjects with tinea cruris or tinea corporis were evaluated in this double-blind, randomized study. The subjects applied naftifine cream 1% or econazole nitrate cream 1% to affected areas twice daily for 4 weeks. After 1 week of treatment naftifine had an overall cure rate of 19% compared with 4% for econazole (p = 0.03). A difference in favor of naftifine, although not statistically significant after the first week, persisted throughout treatment. Two weeks after the end of treatment both medications had overall cure rates of approximately 80%. Three percent of the naftifine-treated subjects had side effects compared with 13% of the econazole-treated subjects. In two subjects using econazole, the side effects were severe enough to warrant discontinuation of treatment.