Healthcare Provider Testing Practices for Tinea and Familiarity with Antifungal-Drug-Resistant Tinea—United States, 2022

Abstract

Tinea, a dermatophyte fungal infection, is a common outpatient complaint that is easily misdiagnosed by visual inspection. Antifungal-drug-resistant tinea is an emerging global public health problem, with several cases reported in the United States. We analyzed data from a Spring 2022 web-based survey of healthcare provider attitudes and practices. Among 1500 healthcare providers, only 20.1% reported typically using diagnostic testing for tinea, and 19.5% reported clinical experience with drug-resistant tinea. Drug-resistant tinea may be more widespread than previously recognized. However, the low frequency of diagnostic testing indicates potential misunderstanding or misdiagnosis of drug-resistant tinea and missed opportunities to detect drug-resistant cases.

Keywords

• tinea
• ringworm
• dermatophytosis
• diagnosis
• drug resistance
• fungal