Dermatolojik Hastaliklarda Demodex spp. Prevalansinin Arastirilmasi/Investigation of the Prevalence of Demodex spp. in Dermatological Diseases

• Published in: Türkiye parazitolojii dergisi Vol. 46; no. 1; p. 54
• Main Authors: Erdal, Berna, Albayrak, Hulya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Galenos Yayinevi Tic. Ltd 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Skin; Skin diseases
• ISSN: 1300-6320; 2146-3077
• DOI: 10.4274/tpd.galenos.2021.93685

Amac: Saglikli bireylerin mikrobiyotasinda bulunan Demodex akarlarinin sayisal artisina bagli olarak bazi dermatolojik hastaliklarin ortaya ciktigi dusunulmektedir. Bu calismada, akne vulgaris, rosacea, perioral dermatit, seboreik dermatit, egzama ve pityriasis folliculorum tanili hastalarda Demodex spp. prevalansinin ve bu hastalara ait demografik ve klinik verilerin Demodex ile iliskisinin arastirilmasi amaclanmistir. Yontemler: Calismaya 144 hasta (70 akne vulgaris, 6 pityriasis folliculorum, 15 seboreik dermatit, 39 rosacea, 8 egzema ve 6 perioral dermatit) ve 73 saglikli gonullu dahil edilmistir. Demodex pozitifligi, tum gruplarda standart yuzeyel deri biyopsi yontemi ile degerlendirilmistir. Tanida cm2'de besten fazla Demodex akari gorulmesi pozitif kabul edilmistir. Bulgular: Calismaya alinan 144 hastanin 107'si (%74,3) kadin, 37'si (%25,7) erkek, 73 saglikli gonullunun 40'i (%54,8) kadin, 33'u (%45,2) erkektir. Yuz kirk dort hastanin 21'inde (%14,5), 73 saglikli gonullunun ise 5'inde (%6,8) Demodex pozitifligi saptanmistir. Rosecea ve akne vulgaris gruplarindaki Demodex pozitiflik oranlarinin kontrol grubuna gore yuksek oldugu, ancak bu yuksekligin istatistiksel olarak anlamli olmadigi tespit edilmistir (p>0,05). Hasta gruplari icerisinde en yuksek pozitiflik oraninin sirasiyla pityriasis folliculorum (4/6, %66,7), rosacea (8/39, %20,5) ve perioral dermatit (1/6, %16,7) gruplarinda oldugu saptanmistir. Gruplarin demografik ve klinik ozellikleri ile Demodex pozitifligi arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli bir iliski bulunamamistir (p>0,05). Sonuc: Bu calisma, alti farkli dermatolojik hastaligin varliginda Demodex pozitifligini arastiran literaturdeki tek calismadir. Calisma sonuclarina gore; rosacea, akne vulgaris ve pityriasis folliculorum gibi dermatolojik hastaliklarda Demodex spp. pozitifliginin arastirilmasinin erken tani ve tedavi acisindan yararli olacagi dusunulmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Akne vulgaris, Demodex spp., pityriasis folliculorum, rosacea Objective: An increase in the counts of the Demodex mites that exist in the microbiota of healthy individuals may lead to some dermatological diseases. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Demodex spp. among patients diagnosed with acne vulgaris, rosacea, perioral dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, eczema, and pityriasis folliculorum and the relationship between the demographic and clinical data of such patients and Demodex. Methods: This study included 144 patients (70 with acne vulgaris, 6 with pityriasis folliculorum, 15 with seborrheic dermatitis, 39 with rosacea, 8 with eczema, and 6 with perioral dermatitis) and 73 healthy subjects. We evaluated Demodex positivity using the standard superficial skin biopsy method in all groups. The presence of more than five Demodex mites per square centimeter was considered positive at the diagnosis. Results: Of the 144 patients included in the study, 107 (74.3%) were female, and 37 (25.7%) were male, while 40 (54.8%) of the 73 healthy subjects were female, and 33 (45.2%) were male. Twenty-one patients (14.5%) and five of the healthy subjects (6.8%) tested positive for Demodex. We found that Demodex positivity rates in the rosacea and acne vulgaris groups were higher than in the control group. However, this level was not statistically significant (p>0.05). We found the highest positivity rate among the patient groups in the pityriasis folliculorum (4/6, 66.7%), rosacea (8/39, 20.5%), and perioral dermatitis (1/6, 16.7%) groups. Lastly, we found no statistically significant relationship between the demographic and clinical characteristics of the groups and Demodex positivity (p>0.05). Conclusion: The present study is the only study that investigated Demodex positivity in six different dermatological diseases. Based on the results, we believe that investigating Demodex spp. positivity in dermatological diseases such as acne vulgaris, rosacea, and pityriasis folliculorum would be beneficial for early diagnosis and treatment. Keywords: Acne vulgaris, Demodex spp., pityriasis folliculorum, rosacea