During the last few decades, an increased prevalence of tinea capitis with a remarkable change in the pattern of the causative dermatophytes among different countries has been observed. |
Although mycological examination is considered to be the gold standard diagnostic method in tinea capitis, it is highly valuable to find a method useful in making a correct diagnosis before culture results are available. |
The aim of the study was to establish the role of trichoscopy in diagnosing tinea capitis. |
Trichoscopy is helpful in diagnosis of tinea capitis, differentiation between Microsporum and Trichophyton infection, and monitoring of treatment efficacy. |
The presence of characteristic trichoscopic features of tinea capitis is sufficient to establish the initial diagnosis and introduce treatment before culture results are available. |
Introduction
Methods
Results
Trichoscopic feature | Reported prevalence in %a (mean valueb) | Sensitivityc (%) | Specificityd (%) | Positive predictive value (%) | Negative predictive value (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Comma hairs | 13–100 (51) | 50 | 99 | 94 | 82 |
Corkscrew hairs | 14–100 (32) | 32 | 100 | 98 | 77 |
Morse code-like hairs | 12–56 (22) | 13 | 100 | 100 | 73 |
Zigzag hairs | 5–49 (21) | 17 | 99 | 83 | 73 |
Bent hairs | 4–71 (27) | 7 | 100 | 100 | 72 |
Block hairs | 4–50 (10) | 2 | 100 | 83 | 70 |
i-Hairs | 4–33 (10) | 6 | 100 | 97 | 71 |
The Most Characteristic Trichoscopic Findings of Tinea Capitis
Comma Hairs
Corkscrew Hairs
Morse Code-like Hairs
Zigzag Hairs
Bent Hairs
Block Hairs and i-Hairs
Other Trichoscopic Findings of Tinea Capitis
Trichoscopic Differences between Microsporum and Trichophyton Tinea Capitis
Trichoscopic feature | Microsporum tinea capitis Number of patientsa (%) | Trichophyton tinea capitis Number of patientsb (%) | Statistical significance (p value) |
---|---|---|---|
Comma hairs | 21/29 (72) | 24/38 (63) | 0.42 |
Corkscrew hairs | 3/29 (10) | 21/38 (55) | < 0.001 |
Morse code-like hairs | 8/29 (28) | 0/38 (0) | < 0.001 |
Zigzag hairs | 6/29 (21) | 0/38 (0) | < 0.01 |
Bent hairs | 4/29 (14) | 0/38 (0) | < 0.05 |
Block hairs | 0/29 (0) | 0/38 (0) | – |
i-Hairs | 0/29 (0) | 0/38 (0) | – |
Broken hairs | 13/29 (45) | 17/38 (45) | 0.99 |
Black dots | 3/29 (10) | 3/38 (8) | 0.73 |
Perifollicular scaling | 3/29 (10) | 2/38 (5) | 0.43 |
Diffuse scaling | 4/29 (14) | 0/38 (0) | < 0.05 |