Oliveira et al. J Geriatr Med Gerontol 2019, 5:062 Volume 5 | Issue 1 DOI: 10.23937/2469-5858/1510062 Citaton: Oliveira JT, Santos MS, Naves WV, Costa HL, Santos AS, et al. (2019) Clinical and Etological Study of Onychomycosis in Insttutonalized Elderly in Goiânia City, Goiás State, Brazil. J Geriatr Med Gerontol 5:062. doi.org/10.23937/2469-5858/1510062 Accepted: February 13, 2019: Published: February 15, 2019 Copyright: © 2019 Oliveira JT, et al. This is an open-access artcle distributed under the terms of the Creatve Commons Atributon License, which permits unrestricted use, distributon, and reproducton in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Open Access ISSN: 2469-5858 Journal of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology • Page 1 of 8 • Oliveira et al. J Geriatr Med Gerontol 2019, 5:062 Clinical and Etological Study of Onychomycosis in Insttutonalized Elderly in Goiânia City, Goiás State, Brazil Jeferson Teixeira Oliveira 1 , Mateus Silva Santos 2 , Wesley Vieira Naves 3 , Hygor Lima Costa 1 , Andressa Santana Santos 4 , Vivianny Aparecida Queiroz Freitas 4 , Maria do Rosário Rodrigues Silva 4 , Milton Camplesi Junior 1 , Antonio Márcio Teodoro Cordeiro Silva 1 and Fábio Silvestre Ataides 1* 1 Insttute of Health Sciences, University Paulista Campus Flamboyant, Brazil 2 Postgraduate Program in Genetc, MGene, Pontfcal Catholic University of Goiás, Brazil 3 Postgraduate Program in Environmental Sciences and Health, Pontfcal Catholic University of Goiás, Brazil 4 Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Brazil *Corresponding author: Prof Dr. Fábio Silvestre Ataides, Insttute of Health Sciences, University Paulista Campus Flam- boyant, Rua Beijuaçu Q.168, Lt.14, Setor Parque Amazonas, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, CEP: 74835-340, Tel: 55-62-99631- 8545 Abstract Background: Onychomycosis is fungal nail infection, which can be associated with some factors, such as decreased nail growth and immunodefciency, makes the elderly predisposed to onychomycosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency of onychomycosis in elderly institutionalized, and to verify the effects that the infection had in their daily routine. Methods: This study was carried in gerontological complex- es of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, with 58 elderly who exhibited clinical suspicion of onychomycosis and a questionnaire was provided to the elderly regarding the effects that the infection had in their daily routine. Results: Among the 33 cases of the onychomycosis confrmed, 63.6% were female and 36.4% male. The participant ages ranged from 55 to 86 years (51.3 years ± SD = 32.8). In this study, no statistically signifcant between age (p = 0.362) and sex (p = 0.234) associated of Onychomycosis in institutionalized elderly. The etiological agents Trichophyton rubrum were isolated in 9.1% and Fusarium spp. in 15% of the positive samples. The genus Candida was identifed in 46.5% of the samples, and Candida parapsilosis (30.3%) was the most frequent species. The applied questionnaire verifed that more than 90% of participants answered that other people notice the presence of the nail lesion; That the of nail injuries infuences their choice of shoes; and that perceive the difference in nail characteristics, such as thickness and discoloration. Conclusions: This study found a higher frequency of onychomycosis in women, and the main etiological agents were Candida spp. and Fusarium spp. The onychomycosis signifcantly changes the routine of its patients, with most participants reporting that people fnd it unpleasant to look at their nails and note the problem and they are uncomfortable with the appearance of the lesion. In clinical question, the participants also notice the change in the characteristics of their nails, diffculty in cutting and, nail and fnger/toe pain. Keywords Onychomycosis, Elderly, Dermatophytes, Fusarium, Candida parapsilosis Introducton Onychomycosis is an infectous cutaneous disease caused by fungi and occurs in fngernails and toenails. The etological agents come from three distnct groups of fungi: Dermatophytes, yeasts, or non-dermatophytc flamentous fungi (NDFF) [1,2]. This infecton is common in the world populaton, accountng for about 50% of the nail disorders [3]. Knowledge of the frequency of onychomycosis is important due to the clinical damage that it inficts on patents. Although this infecton does not cause mortality, the infammatory process in the nail plate ReSeARCH ARTiCLe Check for updates