ACROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON PREVALENCE OF QOOBA (RING WORM) IN ADULT RURAL POPULATION IN THE AGE GROUP OF 30-60 YEARS

Introduction: Currently, dermatologists across India are inundated with cases of dermatophytosis presenting with unusual large lesions, ring within ring lesions, multiple site lesions (tinea cruris et corporis), and corticosteroid modified lesions, making diagnosis a difficult bet. This changed face of dermatophytosis has created a real panic among dermatologists. The recent prevalence of dermatophytos is in India ranges from 36.6–78.4%. Skin mycosis is the most frequent form of skin infections accounting for 20-25% of world population Dermatophytosis management has become an important public health issue, with a large void in research in the area of disease pathophysiology and management. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted to find out the prevalence of Qooba in adult rural population of Pune, Maharashtra. Subjects in the age group of 30 – 60 years of either gender attending the outpatient departments of hospitals from the designated study areas were included for the study. The random sampling method was used to obtain the sample of studied population. Approval of the Institutional Ethical Committee was also obtained. Assessment of subjective and objective parameters was done as per the pre-tested Performa and scales. KOH test was used as investigation of evaluation. The collected data was entered in MS-Excel and the master chart prepared accordingly data. The qualitative data was analyzed by chi square test. Result: The prevalence of dermatophytosis was 18.88%. Majority of patients (60%) having dermatophytosis were in the age group of 30-35 years. Dermatophytosis was found to be predominant in males. Itching was found in all the positive cases. The results revealed that Tinea Cruris was the most prevalent among the cases. Conclusion: Overcrowding, low socioeconomic status, unhygienic living conditions, outdoor work, increased physical activity and excessive sweating predisposes to ring worm infection. The present study showed the involvement of several fungi in dermatophytosis infection and hence detection of the causative agent is necessary for appropriate treatment of dermatophytosis.