RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Beau's lines are transverse furrows of the nail plates that can be caused by various conditions. Because the clinical manifestations of Beau's lines tend to depend on its causes, the clinical manifestations may provide diagnostic clues of causative or underlying diseases. OBJECTIVE: This study is conducted to provide a better understanding of Beau's lines and to give dermatologists diagnostic clues from assessment of its morphological patterns. METHODS: In order to investigate the clinical characteristics and patterns of Beau's lines according to its clinical manifestations, a retrospective study was being performed. A total of 150 patients with Beau's lines who visited the nails clinic of our hospital from January 1, 2006, to September 30, 2010, were included. RESULTS: The group of patients with Beau's lines consisted of 78 males (52%) and 72 females (48%). The onset age ranged from 1 to 82 years old. The most frequently involved fingernail was the right thumb nail. In this study, causes of Beau's lines were grouped into eight categories: idiopathic, traumatic, nail/skin disease, systemic illness, bone marrow transplantation, chemotherapy, nail infection, and others. Idiopathic cause was observed the most frequently. The pattern of Beau's lines was symbolized in each patient and was depicted in a row according to order of frequency. The pattern of N2B2L1D1M2 (Numerous/Multiple/Incomplete/Deep/Broad) was observed overall as the most frequently. The most common pattern in the nail/skin diseases category was N2B1L1D1M2 (Numerous/Single/Incomplete/Deep/Broad). In the traumatic group, N1B2L1D1M2 (Confined/Multiple/Incomplete/Deep/Broad) was the most frequently observed pattern. CONCLUSION: This study explored the clinical manifestations of Beau's lines. In some categories of causes, the morphological patterns showed a tendency to converge. Thus, the morphological patterns can provide certain diagnostic information.