Alopecia Areata Incognito Misdiagnosed as Androgenetic Alopecia: A Case Report

January 2022 in “ مجلة جامعة المجمعه للعلوم الصحية ”

Waleed Alsalhi

alopecia areata incognito androgenetic alopecia female pattern hair loss telogen effluvium scalp biopsy telogen hairs dermoscopy yellow dots short regrowing hairs female pattern baldness hair shedding hair loss diagnosis

TLDR A woman was misdiagnosed with hair loss for years, but actually had a rare type of alopecia.

This case report discusses a 54-year-old Saudi female who was misdiagnosed with female pattern androgenetic alopecia for eight years, despite no improvement with treatment. Upon attending a clinic, a comprehensive evaluation, including a scalp biopsy, revealed that she actually had alopecia areata incognito, an uncommon variant of alopecia areata characterized by acute diffuse shedding of telogen hairs without typical alopecic patches. This condition can resemble telogen effluvium or androgenetic alopecia, but is identified by numerous yellow dots and short regrowing hairs in dermoscopy. The case highlights the importance of high clinical suspicion and histopathological correlation in diagnosing alopecia areata incognito.

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