36 An Introduction to Medical Mycology 



hands and the feet gave negative results, only 20 per cent of the patients 

 showed a positive reaction to trichophytin (Table 11). It is interesting to 

 note that for all 557 patients for whom fungous examinations gave negative 

 results, the incidence of the reaction to trichophytin was approximately 29 



TABLE 10.— Reaction to Trichophytin Test of Patients with Miscellaneous 

 Eruptions, Examinations for Fungi Having Given Negative Results 



per cent. In half of these cases the clinical evidence suggested mycotic 

 infection. 



Since we believe the test to be specific in the majority of instances and 

 have noted that patients with primarily inflammatory eruptions proved by 

 culture to be fungous inevitably show positive cutaneous reactions to 



TABLE 11.— Reaction to Trichophytin Test of Patients with Eruption on Hands 

 rut Not on Feet, Examination for Fungi Having Given Negative Results 



trichophytin, we believe that a positive reaction is of value but a negative 

 reaction of even greater value when one is trying to decide whether an 

 inflammatory eruption is of mycotic origin. If the rash is of several weeks' 

 duration (which would allow ample time for sensitization), if neither 

 microscopic nor cultural studies show fungi and if the intracutaneous test 

 to trichophytin gives a negative result, an exudative inflammatory eruption 

 m;i\ be declared to be nonnivcotic. 



