ABSTRACT

Objective:

The hair and scalp diseases in children are studied in a wide range. Various diseases were considered in the differential diagnosis according to the age of onset and clinical patterns. We aimed to retrospectively evaluate the frequency and main clinical features of hair and scalp diseases in patients admitted pediatric dermatology (PD) outpatient clinic.

Methods:

159 patients with hair and scalp diseases which were distinguished among the records of 2641 patients under 18 years of age, who were admitted to PD outpatient clinic of Afyon Kocatepe University Hospital. The demographic and clinical data were recorded from the files and appropriate analyses were performed.

Results:

The mean age of patients (90 females and 69 males) were 9.92±5.28 years (2 months-17 years). Seborrheic dermatitis, alopecia areata, tinea capitis, telogen effluvium and psoriasis were the most common diseases (26.4%, 19.5%, 13.2%, 11.9% and 11.9% respectively) Hair loss was present in 47.8% of cases. Hair pull test and trichoscopy were the most common diagnostic methods in the analysis of hair loss whereas biopsy was the least common (72.3%, 40.9% and 5.0).

Conclusion:

Hair loss is important at all ages due to cosmetic concerns. Non-scarring acquired alopecias were the most common in pediatric age group.