Distinguishing Androgenetic Alopecia From Chronic Telogen Effluvium When Associated in the Same Patient: A Simple Noninvasive Method
August 2006
in “
Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature
”
TLDR A simple wash test can help differentiate between two types of hair loss, and dermatoscopy should be used for further clarification.
The study describes a method using the wash test to distinguish between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and telogen effluvium (CTE) or a combination of the two conditions. The wash test involves analyzing the number and length of shed hairs after refraining from shampooing for 5 days. The authors suggest that patients shedding more than 100 hairs could be diagnosed with CTE, while those shedding fewer than 100 hairs could have AGA. However, the assumption that shedding more than 100 hairs indicates CTE may not hold true, as women with female pattern hair loss (FPHL) can also experience increased shedding. The study concludes that dermatoscopy should be used as a non-invasive procedure to distinguish between CTE and FPHL.
