A CONTROLLED TRIAL OF HOME VERSUS HOSPITAL TREATMENT OF TINEA CAPITIS WITH GRISEOFULVIN

Abstract

To test previous observations that children with tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton violaceum and treated with griseofulvin in the field showed better recovery rates than patients given similar treatment in hospital, a planned controlled trial was carried out in Yugoslavia with the assistance of the World Health Organization. Two comparable groups of patients from 15 villages in an endemic area were selected at random for treatment at home or in hospital with an identical treatment schedule. Altogether 395 children 5-14 years old were treated and resurveyed clinically and microscopically for assessment of cure two and six months later. The trial confirmed that home treatment is at least as effective as hospital treatment, the recovery rate among those treated at home (92.2%) being indeed slightly higher than that among the hospitalized (86.4%). Further investigation is needed to elucidate the factors causing this phenomenon, but it may at any rate be concluded that field campaigns with griseofulvin are justified where tinea capitis is endemic.