According to a study published in the ‘Diyala Journal of Medicine’, using Terbinafine twice a day for one week is equally effective in terms of mycological treatments as using Clotrimazole twice a day for four weeks.  The researchers aimed to assess and compare the effectiveness and safety of two popular antifungal creams— Terbinafine 1% and Clotrimazole 1% for the treatment of tinea pedis, a prevalent dermatophytic fungal infection.

The study carried out at the outpatient clinic of the dermatology department from March 2019 to January 2020, included 60 clinically diagnosed patients with tinea pedis. Thirty patients were assigned to apply 1% Terbinafine cream topically twice daily for just one week, while another 30 applied 1% Clotrimazole cream topically twice daily for a more extended four-week period. Before and after the use of these creams, scraping for fungi was done.

Efficacy parameters- clinical and mycological cure were evaluated at 1st, 4th and 6th week. One week of topical Terbinafine was preferred owing to short duration of therapy and fungicidal activity that enhance patient compliance and treatment outcomes. Details of the effectiveness (mycological and clinical cure rates) associated with the two topical therapies have been described in the following Table 1:

These findings suggest a slightly better response of Terbinafine over Clotrimazole (though not significantly different due to the small sample size and time constraints). While there is no notable difference between the two treatments, opting for 1 week of Terbinafine may enhance patient adherence, cost-effectiveness, and suitability when compared to applying Clotrimazole for four weeks.