Terbinafine
Classification: AATC code: D01AE15
Summary
There are some studies with analyses of sex differences in effect of terbinafine cream but the results are contradictory and the clinical relevance is unclear.
Additional information
Pharmacokinetics and dosing
No difference between men and women has been shown for transdermal absorption in general [1].
Effects
A retrospective study of oral treatment in patients with toenail onychomycosis (58 men, 59 women) showed better outcome measures of terbinafine 250 mg daily than itraconazole 400 mg daily in women. In men, the outcome of the two treatments was similar [2].
A small study of patients with mild or moderate papulopustular rosacea (7 men, 25 women) showed that 8 weeks treatment with topical metronidazole or terbinafine yielded similar effect in men and women [3].
Adverse effects
No studies with a clinically relevant sex analysis regarding adverse effects of terbinafine have been found.
Reproductive health issues
Regarding teratogenic aspects, please consult the Drugs and Birth Defects Database (in Swedish, Janusmed fosterpåverkan).
Other information
There is a lack of consensus regarding the epidemiology of onychomycosis, some studies show a higher prevalence in men [4,5]. and others a higher prevalence in women [6,7]. In a study in persons with Diabetes Mellitus (283 men, 267 women), development of onychomycosis was 3 times more common in men than in women [4].
Updated: 2019-02-26
Date of litterature search: 2017-02-21
References
- Schwartz JB. The influence of sex on pharmacokinetics. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2003;42:107-21. PubMed
- Cohen AD, Medvesovsky E, Shalev R, Biton A, Chetov T, Naimer S et al. An independent comparison of terbinafine and itraconazole in the treatment of toenail onychomycosis. J Dermatolog Treat. 2003;14:237-42. PubMed
- Serdar ZA, Yaşar Ş. Efficacy of 1% terbinafine cream in comparison with 075% metronidazole gel for the treatment of papulopustular rosacea. Cutan Ocul Toxicol. 2011;30:124-8. PubMed
- Gupta AK, Konnikov N, MacDonald P, Rich P, Rodger NW, Edmonds MW et al. Prevalence and epidemiology of toenail onychomycosis in diabetic subjects: a multicentre survey. Br J Dermatol. 1998;139:665-71. PubMed
- Sigurgeirsson B, Steingrímsson O. Risk factors associated with onychomycosis. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2004;18:48-51. PubMed
- Di Chiacchio N, Suarez MV, Madeira CL, Loureiro WR. An observational and descriptive study of the epidemiology of and therapeutic approach to onychomycosis in dermatology offices in Brazil. An Bras Dermatol. 2013;88 Suppl 1:3-11. PubMed
- Araújo . Occurrence of onychomycosis among patients attended in dermatology offices in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An bras Dermatol. 2003;78(3):299-308.
- Concise. Stockholm: eHälsomyndigheten. 2015 [cited 2017-03-02.] länk
Reviewed by: Mia von Euler
Approved by: Karin Schenck-Gustafsson