Dermoscopic Characterization of Dermatophytosis: A Preliminary Observation.

INTRODUCTION: Dermatophytosis has become resistant and relapsing infection in India. Diagnosis of dermatophytosis is easy, however, poses diagnostic challenge in partial treatment, steroid abuse. Dermoscopy is noninvasive tool for diagnosis of many infestations and infections. Dermoscopy in dermatophytosis is not well documented. We evaluated dermatoscopic patterns to correlate with histopathological changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study was conducted in tertiary hospital after obtaining ethical clearance and informed consent. DermLite 3 dermoscope was used to examine the lesions. Polarized and nonpolarized modes were used and ultrasound gel was utilized. Potassium hydroxide mount and skin biopsy was done to confirm the diagnosis. RESULTS: About 30 patients with 16 males and 14 females were present. Median duration was 3.5 months and median age was 30 years. The most common site was waist and crural area affecting 20 (66.66%). Dermoscopy revealed brown to black dots, globules, and white scales in all patients (100.0%). Lesions of shorter duration (26.66%) demonstrated red dots, dotted vessels, reddish-brown dots, and globules, and brown to black dots and globules were noted in lesions of longer duration (73.33%). Hair changes were noted in five (16.66%) patients. CONCLUSION: Dermoscopy showed particular patterns in dermatophytosis. Patterns were consistent irrespective of age, sex, and site of involvement. Presence of reddish-brown and black globules with white scales was found to be the most characteristic dermoscopic feature.

Dermoscopy of borderline tuberculoid leprosy.

INTRODUCTION: Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous condition caused by Mycobacterium leprae, and borderline tuberculoid (BT) leprosy is the most common type of leprosy and presents with large, well- to ill-defined hypopigmented patches. It is known for atypical presentations. Dermoscopy of granulomatous conditions is well documented. However, there is no description of dermoscopy of BT leprosy in the literature. Authors evaluated the dermoscopic patterns of BT leprosy. CASE REPORT: Patients with BT leprosy were studied for dermoscopic patterns. A total of 12 patients (8 male, 4 female) with a median age of 25 years were present. Mean duration of disease was 6 months. The most frequent pattern was white areas (100%) followed by decreased density of hairs. Yellow globules were observed in 8 (66.66%) patients. Decreased white dots (represent sweat duct openings) and branching vessels were noted in 6 (50%) and 4 (33.33%) patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of dermoscopy of BT leprosy in the literature, and new dermoscopic observations were made by the authors. Dermoscopy of BT leprosy shows characteristic patterns, thus it adds valuable information for the diagnosis of BT leprosy.

Trichoscopic Patterns in Squamous Cell Carcinoma: : A Case Report.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most cutaneous malignancy after basal cell carcinoma (BCC) with increasing incidence. In the view its nodular manifestation; it can appear similar to nodular BCC, atypical fibroxanthoma, sclerosing liposarcoma and desmoplastic melanoma. Prognostic and therapeutic implications are different in all these conditions and thus their distinction becomes important. Trichoscopy is a simple and non-invasive technique to visualize certain morphological features of skin lesions and it improves the diagnostic accuracy for melanocytic and nonmelanocytic pigmented lesions. Here, a case is reported wherein trichoscopic patterns were useful in the diagnosis of SCC on the scalp. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on trichoscopic patterns in SCC from India.