BACKGROUND - Dermatophyte species vary in different regions and this fact has therapeutical and epidemiological importance. OBJECTIVE - To determine the frequency and the species of dermato phytes in mycological examinations of patients seen at the outpatients' clinic, Department of Dermatology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. METHODS - A retrospective analysis of mycological examinations performed in outpatients from August 1998 to February 2006. The data were compared to the results of previous studies conducted locally and in other Brazilian cities by means of chi-square test. RESULTS - Out of 5077 samples collected, 2033 (40.0%) were positive for dermathophytes. Trichophyton rubrum species more frequently isolated (62.4%), followed by T. mentagrophytes (18.2%), Microsporum canis (5.7%), Epidermophyton floccosum (2.0%), Microsporum gypseum (1.4%) and T. tonsurans (0.3%). CONCLUSION - No significant variation was observed in epidemiological data on dermatophytes in the last seven years in Porto Alegre (p>0.05). However, the study showed differences in the microbiota of Porto Alegre, compared to other Brazilian urban centers (p<0.001). T. tonsurans and M. canis were less frequent than in São Paulo, unlike T. mentagrophytes, which is occurs three times more often in Porto Alegre than in São Paulo.
Dermatophythosis; Epidermophyton; Microsporum; Mycoses; Trichophyton
