Comparison of the therapeutic efficacy of oral doses of fluconazole and itraconazole in a guinea pig model of dermatophytosis.

The therapeutic efficacy of orally administered fluconazole (FLCZ) and itraconazole (ITCZ) in a guinea pig model of dermatophytosis was compared, using the infection intensity of local skin tissue as an index. After Trichophyton mentagrophytes infections had been established in the test animals, the antifungal agents were administered once per day for 14 days. FLCZ had a dose-dependent therapeutic effect and significantly ameliorated infections at doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg per day (both P < 0.01) compared with the untreated control group. The pathogen could not be cultured from previously infected skin tissue from 11% of the animals treated with FLCZ at 10 mg/kg per day, and from 20% of the animals treated with FLCZ at 20 mg/kg per day. The therapeutic efficacy of FLCZ was approximately equal to that of ITCZ administered at the same doses. These results suggest that FLCZ may be a useful treatment for dermatophytosis.