ABSTRACT

Cicatricial alopecia (CA) is a group of disorders that lead to permanent hair loss due to irreversible damage to hair follicles. The aim of this study is to examine clinical and demographic characteristics of patients diagnosed with primary lymphocytic cicatricial alopecia (PLCA).

Patients admitted to our outpatient clinic between 2000 and 2010 and who were diagnosed with PLCA were retrospectively evaluated for demographic characteristics, dermatologic findings, personal and family history, histopathologic results, therapeutic options given to the patients, and patient responses to the treatments.

Thirty-six patients were included in this study. Histopathological examination of scalp hair samples revealed that findings were concordant with lichen planopilaris (LPP) in 26 patients, discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) in 7 patients, pseudopelade de Brocq (PB) in 3 patients. The main first-line treatment most commonly reported was intralesional corticosteroid injection (ILCS, n=16, 44.4%), which was followed by hydroxychloroquine (n=10, 28%). Nineteen of the 36 patients responded to the first-line treatments, whereas 17 patients needed another treatment. Treatments that patients were most likely to respond to were hydroxychloroquine and ILCS for LPP patients; hydroxychloroquine for DLE patients; hydroxychloroquine, systemic corticosteroid, and topical corticosteroid treatments for PB patients.

PLCA is an entity widely observed in middle-aged women and is mostly encountered in the form of LPP. In the current study, patients most likely benefited from ILCS and hydroxychloroquine treatments.

Keywords: Alopecia, cicatricial, epidemiology