Dermoscopic Findings of Patients with Alopecia Areata

Objective: In the recent years, the use of dermoscopy is becoming more important in the diagnosis of hair diseases. Previous studies suggested that there might be differences among races for the findings of scalp dermoscopy. Material and Methods: Ninety two patients of whom 55 were males with alopecia areata aged between 2-65 years were included in the study. After complete dermatological examination, the dermoscopic findings were recorded at their first visit. Results: In our study, 94.6% of all cases were localized alopecia areata. On dermoscopy, yellow dots were seen in 71.7%, tapering hairs in 71.7%, black dots in 56.5%, short vellus hairs in 56.5%, and broken hairs in 38% of the patients. The rate of presence of at least one dermascopic finding was 94.6%. The incidences of yellow dots (p=0.035) and tapering hairs (p=0.002) were significantly higher in females compared to males. Moreover, there were some differences according to localization, number and time of onset of the lesions. Conclusion: The results of our study show that scalp dermoscopy is a useful and preferable method to confirm the diagnosis of alopecia areata.