Trichoscopic Aspects of Alopecia Areata in Children: A Series of 30 Cases

Aims: Alopecia areata is a non-scarring autoimmune disease, quite frequent in the pediatric population. Trichoscopy plays a fundamental role in its diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic evaluation. Our objective was to describe the trichoscopic signs of alopecia areata in children while showing the most frequent signs in the pediatric population and their correlation with disease activity.

Study Design: Retrospective descriptive study.

Place and Duration of Study: Dermatology department of the CHU of Rabat Morocco over a two-year period.

Methodology: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study collecting the cases of alopecia areata in children followed in the dermatology department of the CHU of Rabat Morocco over a two-year period.

Results: A female predominance was noted (63.3%) with a sex ratio of 0.58. Concerning the antecedents, anxiety was at the top of the list with 56.7% of cases. 96.7% of the alopecia areata had been evolving for more than six months, mainly in the form of patchy alopecia 56.7%. In 60% of the children this alopecia areata was due to an emotional shock. Concerning trichoscopy the most common sign found in our study was black dots with a percentage of 80%, followed by: yellow dots 67.7%, exclamation point hair 60%, fluffy hair 53.3%, empty follicular openings 50%, tapered hair 40%, white hair 40%, angled hair 36.7%, biphasic hair 26.7%, pigtailed hair 16,7%. Sign of Pohl Pinkus has not been reported.

Conclusion: Trichoscopy is a major tool in the diagnosis of alopecia areata in the pediatric population but also in the evaluation of the severity of the disease and its prognosis.