Abstract: Adult tinea capitis is easily misdiagnosed due to its mild symptoms and atypical clinical manifestations. We retrospectively analyzed 5 women with tinea capitis, including clinical manifestations, microscopic examination and culture of fugus. All the 5 patients were female, aged from 26 to 75 years, with an average age of 54.4 years. Of them, 4 were postmenopausal women and 1 had a history of using immunosuppressants. Three patients who infected with Trichophyton purpureum presented with seborrheic dermatitis and pustular damage and had a history of sharing the same hairdressing instrument. Two patients who infected with Microsporum canis presented with localized alopecia, inflammatory erythema and pustules, etc. All 5 patients were given itraconazole capsule combined with external sertaconazole nitrate cream. Three patients cured and  after a year follow-up with no recurrence. Two patients with irregular medication had poor efficacy, then lost follow up.

Key words: women, tinea capitis, Trichophyton violaceum, Microsporum canis