Clinical and dermoscopic patterns of childhood alopecia areata in a tertiary care centre in North India

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> To describe the clinico epidemiologic profile and dermoscopic findings in children with alopecia areata (AA) and correlate the dermoscopic findings with stage and severity.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The present study was performed over a period of six months, from July 2020 to December 2020 in a tertiary care hospital where 50 clinically diagnosed children ≤15 years with AA were enrolled. A thorough clinical examination followed by dermoscopy was performed. The results were tabulated and then analyzed statistically.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results: </strong>The mean age of presentation was 9.74 years. The most common site involved was scalp and the most common dermoscopic findings were yellow dots (25/50, 50%), short vellus hair (22/50, 44%), black dots (21/50, 42%), exclamation mark hair (15/50, 30%) and broken hair (11/50, 22%).</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> No significant associations was found between dermoscopic findings and severity or stage of childhood alopecia areata. There was a significant correlation of alopecia areata severity with nail findings in children with alopecia areata.</p>