Focal alopecia in parietal area in adult women — assessment of usefulness of trichoscopy in making a proper diagnosis

Abstract

Introduction. Focal alopecia in the parietal area is one of the types of hair loss that can be found in dermatological practice. Trichoscopy is a non-invasive and easily accessible diagnostic method widely used in scalp disorders.Aim. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of trichoscopy in the non-invasive diagnosis of focal hair loss in adult women.Material and Methods. The study included 40 adult women. The study group consisted of 30 patients including 10 patients with alopecia areata (AA), 10 patients with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and 10 with classical form of lichen planopilaris (LPP). The control group consisted of 10 healthy volunteers. Four groups of structures observed in trichoscopic examination were evaluated: hair follicle openings, hair shafts, vessels, perifollicular and interfollicular skin surface. Results. Among patients with AA the most frequently observed trichoscopic structures were: yellow dots in 100% (10/10), broken hairs in 90% (9/10), hairs resembling exclamation marks in 90% (9/10). DLE patients most often presented white / white-pink structureless areas and prominent, interfollicular scaling in 100% (10/10) and 90% (9/10) of cases, respectively. On the other hand, in the group of patients with LPP, the most frequent findings were: fine perifollicular scaling in 100% (10/10) and linear, slightly branched vessels arranged concentrically around the follicular openings - both features observed also in 100% (10/10) of cases.Conclusion. Trichoscopy as a non-invasive diagnostic method may be helpful in differentiating non-scarring and scarring alopecia in the parietal area in women. Moreover, there are some trichoscopic features typical for AA, DLE and LPP, which allow for differentiation and facilitate the diagnosis of these entities.