Therapeutic and safety evaluation of 200 mg/day itraconazole for 7 days in the treatment of recalcitrant superficial mycoses — a preliminary report

Background/Aims: Itraconazole is active against most human fungal pathogens and has been conventionally used in the treatment of tinea corporis/ cruris at a dosage of 100 mg once daily for 15 days. Recently, a new regimen of 200 mg daily for 7 days has been shown to be equally effective, but there are no reports of the use of this new regimen in the Taiwanese population.Methods: In this open study, 17 patients with recalcitrant superficial mycoses were given 200 mg/day itraconazole for 7 days. All of them completed the treatment and 11 patients returned for follow-up 4 weeks after the treatment.Results: Cure or marked improvement at the end of the 7-day treatment period was noted in 10 of 17 patients (59%) while partial improvement was noted in 7 of 17 (41%). Four weeks after completion of the treatment, 9 of 11 (82%) remained cured or markedly improved, 1 of 11 (9%) was partially improved, and 1 of 11 (9%) had relapsed. These findings were consistent with the grading of each clinical symptom of infection...