Epidemiologic survey of onychomycosis in Koreans: Multicenter study

Background: Although there have been many studies about onychomycosis, no study about Koreans in onychomycosis has been reported in Korea. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the onychomycosis in Koreans. Methods: From April, 2009, to March, 2010, 1,893 patients with onychomycosis who visited the department of dermatology at 10 university hospitals were evaluated. Results: Of 1,893 patients with onychomycosis, 93.8% were toenail onychomycosis, 2.2% fingernail onychomycosis, and 4.0% onychomycosis in both toenails and fingernails. Among the age groups, the incidence rate was highest over the sixties (35.6%). The ratio of male to female patients was 1.3:1. Distal and lateral subungual onychomycosis (80.3%) was the most common clinical type of onychomycosis. Combination therapy of oral terbinafine or itraconazole and topical amorolfine nail lacquer was most common in the treatment of onychomycosis. The most common reasons for combination therapy in onychomycosis were higher cure rate due to synergistic activity (40.2%), followed by shortened treatment duration (12.8%), patient compliance (12.3%), and prevention of recurrence and reinfection (1.7%). Conclusion: Because of the increase in onychomycosis, we suggest the need of standard treatment guidelines for Korean patients with onychomycosis.