Tinea Corporis

December 1, 2006

The lesion on this 6-year-old boy occupies almost the entire left side of his nose. The mother attributed it to an injury her son had sustained 2Z\x weeks earlier, when he was hit in the face by a baseball. The sharply defined, slightly elevated, pink macule had fine papules with an annular flat area at its inferior central aspect. A potassium hydroxide preparation of scrapings from the lesion was negative for hyphae. However, fungus culture grew Cladosporium species.

The lesion on this 6-year-old boy occupies almost the entire left side of his nose. The mother attributed it to an injury her son had sustained 2 1/2 weeks earlier, when he was hit in the face by a baseball. The sharply defined, slightly elevated, pink macule had fine papules with an annular flat area at its inferior central aspect. A potassium hydroxide preparation of scrapings from the lesion was negative for hyphae. However, fungus culture grew Cladosporium species.

Tinea corporis (ringworm) begins as a scaly plaque that extends peripherally with clearing of the center as the slightly raised scale advances. The lesions may be pruritic or asymptomatic--as in this case. Although the lesions may occur almost anywhere on the body, Robert P. Blereau, MD, of Morgan City, La, notes that tinea of the nose is somewhat unusual.

Treatment consisted of daily application of ketoconazole cream. The lesion completely resolved within 3 to 4 weeks.