The Usefulness of Dermoscopy in Canine Pattern Alopecia: A Descriptive Study

In the 2017 study involving 60 short-coated dogs—30 with canine pattern alopecia and 30 healthy controls—researchers found that dermoscopy is a useful tool for diagnosing canine pattern alopecia. Dermoscopic examination revealed specific features such as hair shaft thinning, circle hairs, follicular keratin plugs, and a honeycomb-like pigmentation pattern, which correlated with histological findings from skin biopsies. The study also noted a strong positive correlation between the number of hair tufts observed dermoscopically and the number of follicular units found in histological examination. These results suggest that dermoscopy can provide valuable information for the clinical examination of canine pattern alopecia and may assist in differentiating various hair disorders in dogs. The study was funded by an ESVD Research Grant and reported no conflicts of interest.