Abstract: Objective To report the result of analysis of 72 cases of facial cutaneous sporotrichosis. Methods Seventy-two patients were included in this study. They were diagnosed as facial cutaneous sporotrichosis according to clinical mainfestations and fungal culture. Histopathological examinations were done in some atypical cases. The patients were treated with combined antifungal agents. Results The lesion forms were varied, in which lymphangitic cutaneous form accounted for 9.72% and fixed cutaneous form accounted for 90.28% respectively. Nineteen cases (26.4%) had a history of skin trauma before the cutaneous lesions. All of the patients were successfully treated with potassium iodide and/or itraconazole, terbinafine for 6-8 weeks. Conclusions The skin lesions and mycological examination are the important evidences for the diagnosis of sporotrichosis. The main form of the facial cutaneous sporotrichosis is the fixed cutaneous form. The misdiagnosis rate is 16% in primary level clinics. Potassium iodide is an effective and inexpensive medicine in the treatment of cutaneous sporotrichosis.

Key words: Sporotrichosis, Potassium iodide