Comparative multicentre double-blind study of terbinafine (250 mg per day) versus griseofulvin (1 g per day) in the treatment of dermatophyte onychomycosis

Abstract

A multicentre randomized double-blind study of 143 patients was conducted to compare terbinafine (250 mg/day) and micronized griseofulvin (1 g/day) in the treatment of dermatophyte onychomycosis. The duration of treatment was up to 12 months, but the treatment could be interrupted in the event of complete cure, i.e. clinical disappearance of the pathological zone of the nail combined with mycological cure. The percentage of nails cured was significantly higher in the terbinafine than in the griseofulvin group (77.1% versus 45.7%, P=0.0001). Clinical and biological tolerability were good in both groups. Only 7.4% of patients treated with terbinafine showed one or more adverse events, but 31.5% with griseofulvin (P<0.001).

Key Words:

• Terbinafine
• Griseofulvin
• Dermatophyte onychomycosis