ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study of a 4-year-old boy. A 4-year-old boy is referred from the accident and emergency department to the paediatric dermatology clinic, owing to a 1-year history of scaling and crusting of his scalp associated with hair loss. The patient is accompanied by his parents and older sibling. There are obvious patches of alopecia over the vertex of his scalp associated with scaling and crusting. The whole family had scalp brushings taken for mycological culture. This boy presents with a very common scalp complaint of children seen in most urban areas. He is suffering from tinea capitis which is a dermatophyte fungal infection. The fungal hyphae of T. tonsurans penetrate into the hair shaft rendering topical therapy ineffective. Therefore, systemic treatment is required to clear the scalp infection. Oral terbinafine is therefore the treatment of choice in many paediatric dermatology clinics, as it is highly effective and well tolerated.
