Clinical evaluation of primary cicatricial alopecias from turkey: A retrospective analysis of 97 cases

Objective: Primary cicatricial alopecias (PCA) are a rare group of hair diseases with irreversible hair loss. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the demographic data, clinical findings, disease course and accompanying diseases in a series of PCA cases. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on medical records of 97 patients diagnosed as PCA utilizing electronic data base search at Akdeniz University Hospital Hair Diseases Unit. Results: The incidence of PCA among hair diseases was determined as 6%. Lichen planopilaris (LPP) (41.2%) was the most common diagnosis of PCA, followed by frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) (15.4%) and dissecting cellulitis (9.3%). The ratio of lymphocytic cicatricial alopecia to neutrophilic cicatricial alopecia was found 6.3:1. Female to male ratio was 1.8:1 (p<0.01). The mean age was 44.22±15.19 years. The cases with FFA were significantly older (62.2±9.21 years) and folliculitis decalvans were significantly younger (17.5±4.95 years) (p<0.01). The most frequent complaint of the patients was itching of the scalp (30%) and 66.7% of the patients with itching had been diagnosed as LPP and FFA. No significant relationship was observed between PCA groups and the concominant diseases. Conclusion: The gender and age distribution of the patients with PCA are similar to those described in the literature. LPP is the most frequent PCA diagnosis and the most frequent complaint is itching of the scalp in these patients.