Fluconazole and its place in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis--new therapeutic possibilities.

Seborrheic dermatitis is a subacute or chronic disease of the skin, affecting the seborrhea afflicted areas and presenting with erythema and desquamation. The inflammatory reaction towards the fungi Malassezia spp. is considered to have a basic etiologic connection with this disease. Taking into consideration the pathogenesis, treatment of the dermatitis should be directed towards eradication of Malassezia spp., reduction of the skin lipids, and suppression of the inflammatory response. A wide variety of agents presented in different forms--ointments, shampoos and drugs--can offer quick, safe and effective treatment alternatives. The purpose of the present study was to monitor the therapeutic effects of the anti-fungal drug fluconazole in patients with seborrheic dermatitis. We compared two study groups of patients: Group I--27 patients with seborrheic dermatitis stage I, II and III, treated with fluconazole, 50 mg/day for two weeks. As topical therapy we applied clobetasol propionate 0.05% ointment. After the completion of the therapeutic course, 85% of the patients in this group were clinically cured and their symptoms faded away. Fifteen percent of the subjects in this group--mainly stage III seborrheic dermatitis patients, showed partial but significant clinical improvement. The specific fungal test for Malassezia spp. on Dixon agar was negative in 93% of the cases in this group. Group II--eleven patients with similar clinical indexes were treated with fluconazole 50 mg/day only, for the same time period. The therapeutic results in this group were also satisfactory--31.5% of the patients were cured and 68.5% showed clinical improvement. In 74% of the patients the specific test for Malassezia spp. was negative after treatment. Fluconazole treatment in patients with seborrheic dermatitis proves to be successful, effective and safe.