European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Alopecia in women is generally difficult to diagnose clinically. Trichoscopy may help make the correct diagnosis in doubtful cases. Objective: The aims of the study were to assess the trichoscopic features of different types of alopecia in women, the reliability of trichoscopy vis-à-vis clinical findings, and the validity of trichoscopy in cases with a doubtful clinical diagnosis. Material & Methods: A hospital-based observational, cross-sectional study was carried out on women patients with alopecia. A trichoscopic diagnosis was made and correlated with a clinical diagnosis. The validity of trichoscopy in doubtful cases was evaluated by reporting the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic value. Results: A total of 80 patients were recruited including 38 men and 42 women. The mean age at presentation was 26.84 years (range: 10–59 years). Sixty patients had non‑cicatricial alopecia and the remaining 20 had cicatricial alopecia. The most common trichoscopic findings were  yellow dots (50 patients, 62.5%) and thin hair (33 patients, 41.25%). In patients with alopecia areata, the most frequent findings were yellow dots (92.3%), black dots (68.2%) and exclamation mark hair (72.3%) and Villous Hair (62%). The most common finding in telogen effluvium (TE) was thin hair which was seen in 65.2% of patients.   Conclusion: We conclude that trichoscopy is a relevant investigation in patients with alopecia and has a definite role in the diagnosis of difficult cases. Trichoscopy helped reach a definitive diagnosis in patients in whom the clinical diagnosis was doubtful.