Superficial Cryotherapy Versus Intralesional Corticosteroid Injection in Alopecia Areata: A Comparative Clinical and Dermoscopic Study

The study compared the efficacy and safety of superficial cryotherapy and intralesional corticosteroid injections in treating alopecia areata (AA) in 30 patients aged 14-58 years. Each patient had one patch of hair loss treated with cryotherapy and another with steroid injections. After three months, 83.3% (25 out of 30) of patients showed more than 20% hair growth with cryotherapy, while 80% (24 out of 30) showed similar results with steroid injections. Both treatments significantly reduced the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score and improved dermoscopic parameters, with no significant difference between the two methods. The study concluded that superficial cryotherapy is an effective, safe, and noninvasive treatment for AA, comparable to steroid injections.