Authors
Marwa Elbadawy, Raiyaan Sakib
Published in
Cureus. Volume 18. Issue 6. Pages e110437. Epub Jun 08, 2026.
Abstract
Introduction Fungal skin infections are extremely common worldwide. The diagnosis of cutaneous fungal infections depends on clinical examination and laboratory confirmation using potassium hydroxide (KOH) preparation. Ultraviolet-induced fluorescent dermoscopy (UVF) may provide additional diagnostic clues for dermatologists. UVF dermoscopic findings were compared with the reference standard KOH test results for suspected cutaneous fungal infections. Objectives The aim of the present study was to examine UVF dermoscopy reliability in aiding the diagnosis of cutaneous fungal infections. Methods This is a retrospective observational study based on data review, laboratory results, and image analysis. Patients with suspected fungal infections were subjected to UVF examination and KOH tests. For each eligible patient, demographic and clinical data were extracted, including age, sex, and a unique patient ID or record number. Results The present study included 150 patients with various types of cutaneous fungal infections, who were examined by the UVF dermoscopy and KOH wet mount. The sensitivity was 98.63%, while the specificity was 80.52% in comparison with the KOH examination. Conclusions Ultraviolet fluorescent dermoscopy demonstrated high sensitivity and high negative predictive value, supporting its role as a rapid adjunctive screening tool for superficial fungal infections. UVF-guided sampling may facilitate more accurate KOH examination. However, UVF dermoscopy should be considered complementary to conventional mycological investigations rather than a replacement.
PMID:
42422659
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Jul 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 3
- Comments 0