Comparison of Dermoscope and Woods Lamp as A Tool to Study Melanin Depth in Melasma

INTRODUCTION: Melasma is a common acquired disorder of pigmentation that presents as hyperpigmented macules and patches predominately in the sun exposed areas of the face. It is more commonly seen in women. OBJECTIVE: To compare the woods lamp and dermoscopic features of melasma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 50 patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional analytical study in a tertiary care hospital setting for over a duration of 3 months. Melasma was clinically classified as centrofacial, malar and mandibular and the patients were then examined using the woods lamp (Dermaindia) and dermoscope (Dermlite DL4). Patients were classified into epidermal, mixed, and dermal melasma based on the level of melanin pigment. Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS software (version 22) to find the Cohens kappa coefficient. (The degree of agreement between different methods of assessment/different observers.) RESULTS: The level of agreement between the two methods was done with the help of Kappa coefficient. The Cohens kappa coefficient was 0.534 with a P = 0.00 (p <.05), which indicated a moderate strength of agreement. CONCLUSION: Among the two diagnostic tools, there was a moderate degree of agreement between dermoscopy and woods lamp in the analysis of melasma. LIMITATIONS: Both woods lamp and dermoscopy are tools that are subjective in nature. There was a lack of comparison with histopathology or newer diagnostic techniques like reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM).