The management of superficial candidiasis.

Superficial Candida infection includes several common conditions, most often related to some underlying local or systemic predisposition. Appropriate identification of the pathogen is important in the management of candidiasis as the result of differences in susceptibility among species and strains of Candida to different antifungal drugs. Treatment options are reviewed for oropharyngeal candidiasis, vaginal candidiasis, cutaneous candidiasis, paronychia and onychomycosis, and chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis. Because of the importance of predisposing conditions for candidiasis, adjunctive measures to abate these may be useful, although they are seldom effective in immunocompromised patients.