Research Article The Importance of Trichoscopy in Clinical Practice

Copyright © 2013 Ana Filipa Pedrosa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Trichoscopy corresponds to scalp and hair dermoscopy and has been increasingly used as an aid in the diagnosis, follow-up, and prognosis of hair disorders. Herein, we report selected cases harbouring scalp or hair diseases, in whom trichoscopy proved to be a valuable tool in their management. A review of the recent literature on this hot topic was performed comparing the described patterns with our findings in clinically common conditions, as well as in rare hair shaft abnormalities, where trichoscopy may display pathognomonic features. In our view, trichoscopy represents a valuable link between clinical and histological diagnosis. We detailed some trichoscopic patterns, complemented with our original photographs and our insights into nondescribed patterns. 1