Evaluation of Dermatoscopic Findings of Alopecia Areata and Tinea Capitis in Pediatric Patients

The study evaluated dermatoscopic findings in pediatric patients with alopecia areata (AA) and tinea capitis (TC) to aid in distinguishing between these conditions. It involved 34 children with TC and 21 with AA. The most common dermatoscopic finding in TC was comma hairs (97.1%), while in AA, it was exclamation mark hairs (61.9%). The only overlapping feature was dystrophic and broken hairs, more prevalent in TC (88.2%) than in AA (23.8%). The study highlighted the utility of dermatoscopy as a rapid diagnostic tool, complementing potassium hydroxide examination for accurate diagnosis.