Evaluation of Clinical Significance of Dermoscopy in Alopecia Areata

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) is a common, chronic inflammatory disease characterized by nonscarring hair loss on the scalp or any hair-bearing area of the body. Recently, dermoscopy, a noninvasive diagnostic procedure, has been employed for the diagnosis of AA. AIM: To evaluate various dermoscopic patterns in AA and correlate these patterns with the disease activity and severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dermoscopy was performed on AA patients using DL1 dermoscope (magnification ×10 was used). The dermoscopic patterns recorded were analyzed to identify any correlation with the disease activity and severity. RESULTS: A total of fifty patients of AA were recruited in the study. Female outnumbered males with the ratio being 1.173:1. Mean age of the patients was 25.06 years. Mean duration of disease was 14 months. The most common site involved was scalp (80%) and type noted was patchy (84%). Various dermoscopic patterns noted were yellow dots (YD) (88%), short vellus hair (66%), black dots (BD) (58%), broken hairs (BHs) (56%), tapering hair (TH) (26%), Coudability hairs (14%), pigtail hair (14%), and Pohl-Pinkus constrictions (2%). Statistically significant correlation was observed between BD, BHs, THs, and disease activity. No significant correlation was found between severity and any of the dermoscopic features. CONCLUSION: The most common dermoscopic pattern in our study was YD. Presence of BDs, BHs, and THs indicate active disease. Dermoscopic patterns were not affected by severity of the disease.