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Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India

BACKGROUND: Scalp hair loss in children is one of the common complaints encountered in dermatological practice. Accurate diagnosis of hair loss in children is of major significance as it can have severe psychological implications given the cosmetic importance of hair. AIMS: This study aims to study...

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Autores principales: Shetty, Varsha M., Shanmukhappa, Asha Gowrappala, Nataraj, H. V., Aradhya, Sacchidanand Sarvajnamurthy
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8647711/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34934296
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijt.ijt_56_19
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author Shetty, Varsha M.
Shanmukhappa, Asha Gowrappala
Nataraj, H. V.
Aradhya, Sacchidanand Sarvajnamurthy
author_facet Shetty, Varsha M.
Shanmukhappa, Asha Gowrappala
Nataraj, H. V.
Aradhya, Sacchidanand Sarvajnamurthy
author_sort Shetty, Varsha M.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Scalp hair loss in children is one of the common complaints encountered in dermatological practice. Accurate diagnosis of hair loss in children is of major significance as it can have severe psychological implications given the cosmetic importance of hair. AIMS: This study aims to study the different causes and clinical presentations of scalp hair loss in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a hospital-based descriptive study that enrolled a total of 170 children with scalp hair loss. A detailed history, scalp, and hair examination were done. Bedside investigations such as KOH mount, hair shaft microscopy, and hair pull tests were conducted. Scalp biopsy and dermoscopy were done wherever necessary to confirm the diagnosis. RESULTS: Majority of the children with scalp hair loss were school going and adolescents accounting for 62.4% of cases; 52.4% of patients were male and 47.6% were female. Asymptomatic hair loss was the most common presenting complaint contributing to 71.2% of cases. Patchy pattern of scalp hair loss formed a majority (86.5%) compared to diffuse pattern (13.5%). Around 89.4% of scalp hair loss were of acquired type and remaining 10.6% were of congenital type. Neonatal occipital alopecia (38.9%) was the most common cause of congenital hair loss. However, in the acquired group, 90.1% had nonscarring and 9.9% had scarring alopecia. In the nonscarring group, tinea capitis, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium accounted for 47.4%, 37.9%, and 8.8% of cases, respectively. CONCLUSION: Childhood alopecia is different from adult alopecia in terms of causes and the pattern of presentation. There is a scarcity of literature on childhood alopecia from India, hence, this study can serve as a useful guide in understanding the different causes and its presentation in our population. In addition, this study signifies the importance of simple diagnostic tests such as KOH and hair shaft microscopy in the diagnosis of common hair loss conditions in children.
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spelling pubmed-86477112021-12-20 Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India Shetty, Varsha M. Shanmukhappa, Asha Gowrappala Nataraj, H. V. Aradhya, Sacchidanand Sarvajnamurthy Int J Trichology Original Article BACKGROUND: Scalp hair loss in children is one of the common complaints encountered in dermatological practice. Accurate diagnosis of hair loss in children is of major significance as it can have severe psychological implications given the cosmetic importance of hair. AIMS: This study aims to study the different causes and clinical presentations of scalp hair loss in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a hospital-based descriptive study that enrolled a total of 170 children with scalp hair loss. A detailed history, scalp, and hair examination were done. Bedside investigations such as KOH mount, hair shaft microscopy, and hair pull tests were conducted. Scalp biopsy and dermoscopy were done wherever necessary to confirm the diagnosis. RESULTS: Majority of the children with scalp hair loss were school going and adolescents accounting for 62.4% of cases; 52.4% of patients were male and 47.6% were female. Asymptomatic hair loss was the most common presenting complaint contributing to 71.2% of cases. Patchy pattern of scalp hair loss formed a majority (86.5%) compared to diffuse pattern (13.5%). Around 89.4% of scalp hair loss were of acquired type and remaining 10.6% were of congenital type. Neonatal occipital alopecia (38.9%) was the most common cause of congenital hair loss. However, in the acquired group, 90.1% had nonscarring and 9.9% had scarring alopecia. In the nonscarring group, tinea capitis, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium accounted for 47.4%, 37.9%, and 8.8% of cases, respectively. CONCLUSION: Childhood alopecia is different from adult alopecia in terms of causes and the pattern of presentation. There is a scarcity of literature on childhood alopecia from India, hence, this study can serve as a useful guide in understanding the different causes and its presentation in our population. In addition, this study signifies the importance of simple diagnostic tests such as KOH and hair shaft microscopy in the diagnosis of common hair loss conditions in children. Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 2021 2021-11-22 /pmc/articles/PMC8647711/ /pubmed/34934296 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijt.ijt_56_19 Text en Copyright: © 2021 International Journal of Trichology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
spellingShingle Original Article
Shetty, Varsha M.
Shanmukhappa, Asha Gowrappala
Nataraj, H. V.
Aradhya, Sacchidanand Sarvajnamurthy
Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India
title Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India
title_full Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India
title_fullStr Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India
title_full_unstemmed Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India
title_short Hair Loss in Children: A Clinicoetiological Study from South India
title_sort hair loss in children: a clinicoetiological study from south india
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8647711/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34934296
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/ijt.ijt_56_19
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