Despite the common prevalence of onychomycosis, there is still a tendency among patients and physicians not to take it as seriously as they should. However, onychomycosis is a progressive, recurring infection that may lead to serious complications, particularly among patients with diabetes, who are approximately three times more likely to have onychomycosis.
With this in mind, a roundtable meeting of expert panelists was recently convened in Philadelphia. I had the pleasure of moderating this roundtable.
Initially, we discussed emerging statistics that reflect the large disparity between those who have the infection and those who have formally been diagnosed. There also appears to be a disturbing gap between diagnosis and treatment. We also reviewed the epidemiology of onychomycosis and discussed the likelihood of the infection’s increasing prevalence, given the aging of the population and the growing number of people who have diabetes.
The panelists discussed the various treatment options for onychomycosis. There was a consensus of opinion that this infection needs to have a long-term management plan in order to help reduce the risk of recurrence. Emerging evidence suggests that combining ciclopirox nail lacquer and terbinafine may not only have a positive clinical effect, but facilitates safer, more cost-effective treatment as well.
Throughout the roundtable, we discussed the importance of patient education and the panelists shared their approaches to managing patient expectations.
I would like to thank the panelists for their participation and Dermik Laboratories for its support of this forum. Hopefully, the insights from this discussion will facilitate improved recognition of this condition as a progressive infection that needs to be treated.
_sm.jpg)
Post new comment