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.