Trichoscopic findings and quality-of-life assessment in Egyptian patients with noncicatricial alopecia

Abstract

Background Trichoscopy has become a routine technique in dermatology practice. It is a simple, rapid, and noninvasive technique that allows early diagnosis and management, especially, of hair disorders. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the role of trichoscopy in diagnosis of noncicatricial alopecia (alopecia areata, androgenic alopecia, and telogen effluvium), clinical severity, and assessment of quality of life (QoL) in these disorders. Patients and methods One hundred and fifty patients with noncicatricial alopecia were divided according to their clinical diagnosis into three groups: alopecia areata (55 patients), androgenic alopecia (35 patients), and telogen effluvium (60 patients). Patients were assessed by clinical diagnosis, trichoscopy, and the Arabic version of Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). In alopecia areata, patients were assessed clinically by severity of alopecia tool (SALT) score. Results The study revealed that the three types of alopecia had very large effect on QoL in most of the patients measured by DLQI. In alopecia areata, SALT score was very effective tool to evaluate AA severity, which revealed mild to moderate degree of severity, and there was a positive significant correlation between DLQI and SALT score. Trichoscopic examination revealed yellow dots, black dots, broken hairs, exclamation marks, and short vellus hairs. In androgenic alopecia, hair diameter diversity greater than 20% was the most significant sign, and also there was presence of yellow dots and vellus hair but in number less than that in alopecia areata. Stress was the most common provocative factor in telogen effluvium. Conclusion The clinical and dermoscopic features were matched among diagnosis in the three types of noncicatricial alopecia (telogen effluvium, alopecia areata, and androgenic alopecia).The observed correlation between DLQI findings and the clinical severity of alopecia areata suggests that alopecia has a negative effect on a patient's QoL.