Utility of Trichoscopy to Diagnose Early Female Pattern Hair Loss in Resource-Poor Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study
January 2019
in “
Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology
”
TLDR Low-cost dermoscopes can effectively diagnose early female pattern hair loss.
The study demonstrated that trichoscopy using an inexpensive USB dermoscope was effective in diagnosing early female pattern hair loss (FPHL) by identifying specific dermoscopic features such as anisotrichosis, increased vellus-like hairs, and single hair follicular units in the frontal scalp. The study included 230 cases and 230 controls, and significant differences were found between the frontal and occipital scalp of cases, as well as between the frontal scalp of cases and controls. These findings suggested that early FPHL could be diagnosed in resource-poor settings using low-cost dermoscopes, potentially aiding in timely therapeutic interventions.