Background: Various laser- and light-based devices have been introduced as complementary or alternative treatment modalities for dermatophytosis, particularly for finger or toenail onychomycosis.
Objective: This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the antifungal effects of 405-nm and 635-nm dual-band diode lasers using an in vivo guinea pig model of dermatophytosis.
Materials and methods: A guinea pig model was developed by the repetitive application of fungal spore preparations to the back skin of guinea pigs. Dual-diode laser treatment was delivered to the guinea pig skin at a power of 24 mW at a wavelength of 405 nm and 18 mW at 635 nm for 12 min. The treatments were administered three times weekly for 2 weeks, and a mycological study was performed.
Results: Mycological studies using scraped samples obtained from treatment groups A (N = 8) and B (N = 8) after dual-diode laser treatment revealed that seven of eight (87.5%) samples in each group had negative results for direct potassium hydroxide microscopy and fungal culture studies. Skin specimens from each infected laser-untreated guinea pig exhibited spongiotic psoriasiform epidermis with parakeratosis. Meanwhile, skin specimens from infected laser-treated guinea pigs in groups A and B demonstrated thinner epidermal thickness than those from infected untreated controls but thicker than those from uninfected treated controls without noticeable inflammatory cell infiltration in the dermis.
Conclusion: The guinea pig dermatophytosis model can be used to comparatively evaluate the efficacy and safety of various treatment modalities, including dual-diode lasers, for superficial fungal skin infection.
Keywords: Trichophyton mentagrophytes; Trichophyton rubrum; dermatophytosis; dual-diode laser; skin; toenail; wavelengths of 405 nm and 635 nm.
© 2023 Ahn et al.