Trichoscopic findings in alopecia areata- a cross sectional study

Background: Alopecia areata remains one of the common cases presenting in clinical practice. Considering the anxious state of patients it becomes very important to correctly diagnose the cause and type of alopecia followed by the appropriate treatment. Trichoscopy is a novel, sensitive, non invasive modality which provides rapid detection of alopecia areata with advanced diagnostic accuracy, predicts the cause of disease and decreases unnecessary biopsies. Aim and Objectives: To determine the Trichoscopic findings in alopecia areata in adult population. Materials and Methods: 122 patients with clinically diagnosed alopecia areata were enrolled. After taking proper history and consent trichoscopy was done using a Dinolite digital microscope system in both non polarized and polarized modes and their photographs were taken. Result: 122 patients with alopecia areata were enrolled. Yellow dots were the most common trichoscopic findings observed in 108 (88.5%) patients followed by short vellus hair 66 (54.1%), short regrowing hair 58 (47.5%), exclamation mark hair 56 (45.9%), black dots 44 (36.1%) and broken hair 34 (27.9%).