Photo Rounds

Scarring alopecia in a woman with psoriasis

Author and Disclosure Information

Was this patient’s plaque psoriasis causing her progressive hair loss—or was it something else?


 

References

A 57-year-old African American woman came to our dermatology clinic to reestablish care. She had a long history of plaque psoriasis involving her trunk and extremities. More recently, she had developed progressive hair loss, which her previous physician had attributed to the psoriasis. Before this visit, our patient had been treating her psoriasis with topical clobetasol and calcipotriene.

A physical exam revealed multiple welldemarcated, erythematous, scaly plaques consistent with plaque psoriasis on her trunk and extremities. She also said her scalp was itchy, and we noted significant cicatricial (scarring) alopecia of the scalp, with faint perifollicular erythema, that was predominantly affecting the frontotemporal region (FIGURE). We performed a scalp biopsy.

WHAT IS YOUR DIAGNOSIS?
HOW WOULD YOU TREAT THIS PATIENT?

Pages

Recommended Reading

KOH preparation
MDedge Family Medicine
WCD: Red gums raise red flag in oral lichen planus
MDedge Family Medicine
Expert touts ivermectin 1% cream as treatment of choice for rosacea
MDedge Family Medicine
EULAR: Updated scleroderma guidance focuses on new treatments, approaches
MDedge Family Medicine
Amgen’s termination of brodalumab stuns psoriasis world
MDedge Family Medicine
Non-healing, non-tender ulcer on shin
MDedge Family Medicine
VIDEO: Could a deep Koebner phenomenon trigger psoriatic arthritis?
MDedge Family Medicine
Rosacea linked to dyslipidemia, hypertension, CAD
MDedge Family Medicine
WCD: Smoking tied to worse occupational hand eczema
MDedge Family Medicine
Indoor tanning declines, says CDC
MDedge Family Medicine

Related Articles