Journal of New Discovery in Microbiology

Tinea cruris (Jock Itch) is a pruritic superficial dermatophytic infection, particularly involving the perianal and perineal skin, genitalia and pubic region. Associated morbidities of jock itch include secondary bacterial infection, contact dermatitis from topical medications and lichenification. Risk factors include hyperhidrosis, tight-fitting wear, diabetes mellitus, and obesity, which suppress the immune response to the infection. This study reviewed the current and common dermatophyte species of Tinea cruris including demography, clinical presentation, diagnosis, differential diagnosis and the treatment of the infection. A Google search was conducted using the key terms “Tinea cruris” “Jock Itch” “Dermatophytosis” and “Tinea infections”. The search strategy includes literature reviews, meta-analyses, clinical and observational studies. The result shows that the most commonly affected age group in females was between 31 – 40 years (32.7%), while affected males were between 21 – 30 years (40.0%). The most common clinical presentation was tinea cruris in females (27.3%) and males (25.3%) when compared to dual site tinea cruris and tinea corporis in both genders. The most common dermatophytes of the infection include Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum gypseum and Microsporum audouinii. Terbinafine, itraconazole and luliconazole 1% are more effective and require a short duration of treatment against the infection when compared to other antifungal agents. Darier disease, psoriasis vulgaris, erythrasma, seborrheic dermatitis, cutaneous candidiasis, intertrigo, pemphigus vegetans, contact dermatitis, langerhans cell histiocytosis, lichen simplex chronicus, majocchi granuloma and tinea versicolor may resemble tinea cruris. There has been a significant rise in the incidence of chronic dermatophyte infections of the skin due to the paucity of research on superficial fungal infections and the poor efficacy of the available antifungal agents. More studies are urgently needed on pathogenesis, diagnosis and effective therapy against tinea cruris.