Thermal Imaging and Trichoscopy for Detecting Inflammation in Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia

The document presents a study on the use of thermal imaging and trichoscopy to detect inflammation in patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), an inflammatory scalp condition leading to scarring and hairline recession. The study involved 22 female patients and aimed to objectively quantify the inflammatory activity in FFA to determine the appropriate phase for treatment, as medical interventions are only effective during the initial inflammatory stage. Infrared thermography and optical dermoscopy were used before tissue sampling to identify signs of inflammation, such as perifollicular erythema or scaling. Skin temperature differences greater than 0.5°C compared to a reference area were considered abnormal. The results classified 14 patients (64%) as being in the active disease phase and 8 patients (36%) as in the inactive phase based on a grading scale for inflammatory infiltrate. Using thermography, 17 patients (77%) were considered to have active FFA, and 5 patients (23%) had inactive FFA. The study concluded that infrared thermography could be a non-invasive complementary tool for diagnosing FFA.