Table II.

Helpful information for the clinician to differentiate between suspected fungal pathogens, which is needed for the laboratory for choosing the most appropriate diagnostic methods

Anatomical region	Help for the clinician to differentiate between suspected fungal pathogens			Essential information Information helpful for for the microbiologist the microbiologist
	Disease	Most common clinical signs	Age	Suspected pathogen	Exposure
Scalp (hair region)	Tinea capitis	Broken hairs Kerion Favus Alopecia Scaling	Children	Dermatophyte	Animal exposure Endemic contacts Woods light results Earlier treatment
	Seborrhoeic dermatitis/Dandruff	Greasy skin scales on erythematous skin	Newborn Adults	Malassezia
Face	Tinea faciei	Area with raised erythematous border or red patch	All ages, but mostly children	Dermatophytes	Animal exposure Signs of tinea capitis
	Seborrhoeic dermatitis	Greasy skin scales on erythematous skin primary centro-facial and eyebrows	Adults	Malassezia
Upper body	Pityriasis versicolor	Hypo-or hyperpigmented maculae	Young and adults	Malassezia	Immunosuppression
	Malassezia folliculitis	Monomorphic pustules mainly located at seborrhoeic areas. No comedones	Young and adults	Malassezia	Immunosuppression
	Tinea corporis	Area with raised erythematous border or red patch. Skin scales	All ages	Dermatophyte	Animal exposure Other signs of tinea
Hands	Tinea manuum	Area with raised erythematous border or red patches. Skin scales. Hyperkeratosis.	All ages		Other signs of tinea e.g. tinea pedis
Groin & pubic area	Cutaneous candidiasis	Erythematous skin folds with satellite pustules (and skin scales)	All ages	Candida	Immunosuppression
	Tinea cruris	Area with raised erythematous border or red patch. Skin scales	Adults	Dermatophytes
	Seborrhoeic dermatitis	Greasy skin scales on erythematous skin	Adults	Malassezia
Feet	Cutaneous candidiasis	Interdigital maceration	All ages	Candida	Immunosuppression
	Tinea pedis	Interdigital maceration, skin scales, raised erythematous boarder, ‘Moccasin foot’, thickening of the soles	All ages	Dermatophytes
	Cutaneous non-D mould infection	Interdigital maceration	Mostly adults	Non-D moulds	Immunosuppression
Nails	Candida onychomycosis	Paronychia Nail dystrophy	All ages	Candida	Immunosuppression Moist exposure
	Tinea unguium	Hyperkeratosis, superficial white discoloration, yellow streaks.	All ages, but prevalence increases with age	Dermatophytes	Concomitant tinea pedis?
	Non-D onychomycosis	Hyperkeratosis, discoloration, paronychia/inflammation, nail dystrophy	All ages, but prevalence increases with age	Non-D moulds

Non-D: non-dermatophyte.