Assessing the Reliability of the Modified Wash Test
TLDR The Modified Wash Test is reliable for diagnosing hair loss conditions and determining treatment priority.
In 2011, a study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of the Modified Wash Test (MWT) as a simple, non-invasive, and cost-effective method for diagnosing and assessing the severity of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and telogen effluvium (TE). The study involved 25 subjects who underwent the MWT once a week for four consecutive weeks. The results showed almost perfect reliability in the AGA group for both total hair and vellus hair percentage, and in normal and TE groups for vellus hair count. However, the total hair count in normal subjects showed only moderate reliability. The sensitivity and specificity of the test ranged from 50% to 100%. The study concluded that the MWT can be confidently used in the office to distinguish TE from AGA, identify cases of TE+AGA association, assess the severity of these conditions, and determine which condition should be treated first in cases of TE+AGA association.
