Patrones dermatoscópicos en la evaluación de pacientes con vitíligo localizado y segmentario.

Abstract

Background: Although vitÍligo is primarily a clinical diagnosis, certain cases, especially in its early stages, need to be differentiated from other hypopigmentary disorders. Dermoscopy may play a role as a non-invasive auxiliary tool in the evaluation of these patients. Moreover, dermoscopy is gaining ground when evaluating disease activity, which is considered clinically challenging. Materials and methods: A retrospective, observational study was conducted. Dermoscopic images of 43 patients with localized and segmental vitiligo including stable and progressive cases were analyzed. Variables that were studied, included: perifollicular changes, perilesional changes, altered pigmentary network, and specific features. Results An altered pigmentary was our predominant dermoscopic finding. Perilesional pigmentation and telangiectasias were more frequent in patients receiving treatment. Leukotrichia and an absent pigmentary network were more notable in segmental vitiligo. Starburst and comet tail appearance were more frequent in unstable or progressing vitiligo. Conclusions: Dermoscopy is a friendly tool, that allowed us to identify patterns that can be very useful in the clinical evaluatio of vitiligo, especially on its early lesions. Larger prospective studies correlating clinical, dermoscopic and histologic features are required in order to validate the utility of this tool in the diagnosis of this disease and in assessing vitiligo activity.