Dermoscopy Assessment of Nail Alterations in Egyptian Patients with Alopecia Areata

This study investigated nail alterations in 120 Egyptian patients with alopecia areata compared to 120 healthy controls using dermoscopy. Results showed that 78.3% of patients with alopecia areata exhibited nail changes, significantly higher than the 14.2% in the control group. The most common nail alteration was nail pitting (59%), followed by dry scales on the lateral nail fold (28.3%) and other changes. There was a significant correlation between nail changes and the severity, age, and duration of alopecia areata. These findings suggest that nail changes could be useful prognostic indicators for assessing the severity of alopecia areata.