Is antifungal resistance testing necessary?

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether dermatophytes isolated from toe-web spaces were resistant to ten antifungal agents (bifanazole, clotrimazole, griseofulvin, isoconazole, ketoconazole, miconazole, oxiconazole, sulconazole, tioconazole and tolnaftate). Included in the study were 68 patients. In vitro susceptibility and resistance tests were performed on 33 out of 39 strains that grew in culture. Of the 33 strains, 15 (45%) were resistant and most of these showed resistance to more than one antifungal agent. Thus antifungal resistance among dermatophytes should be borne in mind and, if available, antifungal resistance testing should be performed for effective therapy.