Relevance of Trichoscopy in the Differential Diagnosis of Alopecia: A Cross-Sectional Study from North India

In 2016, a study at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences involving 120 patients found trichoscopy to be a valuable tool in diagnosing various types of alopecia. The most common trichoscopic findings were yellow dots (63.3% of patients) and thin hair (40.8% of patients). In alopecia areata, the most frequent findings were yellow dots (87.5%), black dots (79%), and exclamation mark hair (70.9%). In androgenetic alopecia, yellow dots, hair shaft diameter diversity, and thin hair were the prominent features. Despite the study's limitations, such as a small number of patients in each group and some patients having received prior treatment elsewhere, trichoscopy helped reach a conclusive diagnosis in 19 out of 21 unclear cases.