Futility of combining griseofulvin and terbinafine in current epidemic of altered dermatophytosis in India: Results of a randomized pragmatic trial

Abstract

Background: Treatment responsiveness of tinea has decreased considerably in recent past in India. We tested effectiveness of oral terbinafine plus griseofulvin versus terbinafine alone in tinea corporis, tinea cruris and tinea faciei in a randomized pragmatic open trial. Methods: One hundred and thirty two microscopy confirmed patients were randomly allocated (ratio 1:1) to two groups, terbinafine (T) and terbinafine plus griseofulvin (T+G). Doses given were as follows: T, oral terbinafine (6 mg/kg/day, maximum 500 mg/day, once daily); T+G, terbinafine (as above) plus oral griseofulvin (children [<18 years] 10 mg/kg/day, adults [18 years or more] 10 mg/kg/day, but not <500 mg and not >1000 mg per day, in two divided doses). Patients were treated for 8 weeks or cure, whichever occurred earlier. Results: At 4 weeks, none of the patients were cured in both groups. At 6 weeks, 1(1.5%) and 4 (6.1%) patients were cured in T and T+G groups, respectively (P=0.417). At 8 weeks, 17 (25.8%) and 19 (28.8%) patients were cured in T and T+G groups, respectively (P=0.845). For cure rate at 8 weeks, number needed to treat (NNT) for T+G (versus T), was 33. Conclusions: Addition of griseofulvin to terbinafine does not increase effectiveness of terbinafine in current epidemic of altered dermatophytosis in India.