A study of wood’s lamp findings in melasma

Abstract

Introduction: Melasma is main cause of facial hyperchromia and has a significant psychosocial impact. Wood’s lamp has been a useful device to estimate the depth of melanin determined by light-induced fluorescence. A dermoscope enables a clear visualization of pigments distribution, and the color variation of melanin will depend on its location within the skin. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at the outpatient section of the Department of Dermatology of a tertiary care teaching hospital. A total of 120 patients were enrolled for a duration of 1 year. Patients diagnosed to have melasma on clinical grounds were enrolled after considering various inclusion and exclusion criteria. Result: On clinical examination, 47 patients had centrofacial distribution and 73 had malar distribution of melisma. On Wood’s lamp 51 patients showed complete enhancement hence classified as epidermal, 63 patients had no enhancement hence classified as dermal and 6 patients showed few areas of enhancement and hence classified as mixed melasma. On dermoscopy, 48 patients showed regular pigment network with a brownish homogeneous pigmentation hence classified as epidermal, 61 patients showed Irregular network with bluish grey pigmentation hence classified as dermal and 11 patients showed features of both epidermal and dermal and hence classified as mixed melasma. Conclusion: In the analysis of correlation between Dermoscopy and Wood’s lamp in classification of Melasma, the results showed substantial discordance between the methods. Based on the principles of Dermoscopic examination, this method applicable, more appropriate and helpful for routine diagnosis, assessment and monitoring of patients with melasma.