Dermoscopic Approach to a Small Round to Oval Hairless Patch on the Scalp
January 2014
in “
Annals of Dermatology
”
New to Alopecia Areata? There is a guide in the encyclopedia. Read the guide → alopecia areata trichotillomania traction alopecia tinea capitis lichen planopilaris discoid lupus erythematosus tapering hairs yellow dots broken hairs bent hairs perifollicular white macules greasy scales lack of follicular ostia keratin plugs perifollicular hyperkeratosis erythema AA TM TA TC LPP DLE
Studysummary This study found that dermoscopy showed distinctive patterns for different types of alopecia, supporting its clinical usefulness for diagnosing diseases with small round or oval hairless patches on the scalp. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The study, conducted from January 2008 to December 2011, involved 148 patients with small round or oval hairless patches on the scalp, diagnosed with various types of alopecia. Dermoscopic examination revealed specific findings for each condition: alopecia areata (AA) in 81 patients showed tapering hairs and yellow dots; trichotillomania (TM) in 24 patients and traction alopecia (TA) in 12 patients both showed broken hairs; tinea capitis (TC) in 13 patients had bent hairs, perifollicular white macules, and greasy scales; lichen planopilaris (LPP) in 8 patients and discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) in 7 patients both showed a lack of follicular ostia, with DLE also having keratin plugs and LPP showing perifollicular hyperkeratosis and erythema. The study concluded that dermoscopic examination is useful for diagnosing these conditions and proposed a diagnostic algorithm, despite limitations such as the focus on common diseases and the patient population being exclusively Asian with black hair, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
