Etiology of foot intertrigo in the District of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey: a bacteriologic and mycologic study.

BACKGROUND: Foot intertrigo, occurring in the interdigital space, is mostly caused initially by dermatophytes and yeasts and less frequently by gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. With time, a "complex" may develop in the setting of moisture and maceration that contains multiple fungal and bacterial organisms.

METHODS: We examined and sampled 84 patients with toe web intertrigo for bacteriologic and mycologic studies.

RESULTS: In the culture media, the prominent isolated pathogens as single agents were coagulase-negative staphylococci in 17.9% of patients, which is assessed as contamination from skin flora; Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 16.7%; dermatophytes, Corynebacterium minutissimum, and Staphylococcus aureus each in 11.9%; beta-hemolytic streptococcus in 2.4%; and Proteus mirabilis in 1.2%. However, we recovered double pathogens from patients with foot intertrigo as mixed infection in 19 patients (22.6%). The most common predisposing factors were exposure to spa pools and ablutions.

CONCLUSIONS: Several pathogens and factors might play a role in toe web infections. Therefore, clinical and microbiologic studies are suggested to assist in the selection of appropriate treatment and the prevention of important complications of toe web infections.