Change of the Growth Rate of Great Toenails According to Topical Antifungal Medication

Park, Kyoung Tae; Kim, Joung Soo; Yu, Hee Joon

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Numerous environmental, physiological, and pathological factors, and some medications are known to influence the speed of nail growth.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to know the effect of topical antifungal drug, amorolfine, on the growth rate of nails.
METHODS
First study was performed to patients with distal subungual onychomycosis affecting at least one side of great toe nail (64 cases). The growth rate of affected toe nails was memasured according to the treatment groups, oral itraconazole alone (21 cases), combination of oral itraconazole and amorolfine (23 cases), and amorolfine alone (20 cases). Also, the growth rate of toe nails in the controls who have tinea pedis without onychomycosis (22 cases) was measured. Another study was performed to healthy volunteers without onychomycosis, tinea pedis and any other dermatologic and systemic disease (21 cases). The growth rate of normal toe nails before and during application of amorolfine was measured.
RESULTS
There was no statistically significant difference in the growth rate of affected toe nails between monotherapy group with oral itraconazole alone and combination therapy group with oral itraconazole and amorolfine in patients with onychomycosis (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference when comparing the growth rate of affected toe nails of patients with onychomycosis treated with amorolfine alone with that of normal toe nails of the controls (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the growth rate of normal toe nails between before and during application of amorolfine in healthy volunteers (p>0.05).
CONCLUSION
Topical antifungal medication might not influence the growth rate of nails.