Trichophyton rubrum Bullous Tinea Pedis in a Child

To the Editor.—  The occurrence of tinea pedis in childhood is often regarded as an "infrequent disease" in the dermatologic literature.^1,2 A recent clinical study by Kearse and Miller³ did, however, document prepubertal tinea pedis to be more common than previously reported. A dermatophyte was identified in 8 of 15 children (aged 2 to 13 years) who were evaluated for foot dermatitis.We describe a case of bullous tinea pedis caused by Trichophyton rubrum in a 2-year-old girl, reinforcing the diagnostic value of skin scrapings for potassium hydroxide examination and fungal culture in the evaluation of a pediatric patient with "foot dermatitis."

Report of a Case.—  A 2-year-old white girl presented with a history of a pruritic left foot "rash" of 5 weeks' duration. Several days of initial home therapy with ciclopirox and nystatin/triamcinolone creams were without benefit. Two weeks prior to presentation, Betadine foot soaks and a