Update on Trichoscopy: Integration of Terminology by Systematic Approach and Proposal of a Diagnostic Flowchart

The review "Update on trichoscopy: Integration of the terminology by systematic approach and a proposal of a diagnostic flowchart" discusses trichoscopy, a non-invasive diagnostic method used for hair and scalp conditions. The authors note that there has been complexity and inconsistency in the terminology used in past literature, which can cause confusion. To address this, they conducted a systematic review to redefine major trichoscopic findings and integrate their synonyms into the most frequently used terms. The findings were categorized into five subgroups: hair shaft, follicular, perifollicular, scalp findings, and hair distribution pattern abnormalities. The authors also calculated the sensitivities and positive predictive values of these redefined findings by reviewing past literature on major hair diseases. For example, they redefined yellow dots, short vellus hairs, exclamation mark hairs, black dots, and broken hairs as significant diagnostic findings for alopecia areata, and hair diameter diversity, peripilar sign, and focal atrichia for androgenetic alopecia/female pattern hair loss. The review also proposes an updated diagnostic flowchart and discusses current limitations and future perspectives of trichoscopy.