Evaluation of alopecia: a new algorithm.
The clinical evaluation of alopecia is becoming less precise as more histopathologic correlations become available. According to the classic approach, the clinician should initially differentiate between scarring and nonscarring alopecia. Because several case reports in the past ten years have demonstrated that the definition of "scarring alopecia" is ambiguous, the use of the traditional schema--scarring versus nonscarring--may well be outmoded. Therefore, we propose a new algorithm for the evaluation of alopecia that emphasizes the importance of both clinical and histologic findings.
Modly
C E
CE
Department of Medicine, University of Maryland Hospital, Baltimore 21201.
Wood
C M
CM
Burnett
J W
JW
D000505:Alopecia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D001706:Biopsy; D003663:Decision Trees; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans