Evaluation of clinical-pathologic causes of scarring alopesia in patients referred to dermatology clinic of Imam Reza Hospital in Ardebil during the year of 2018

Background and Aim: Cicatricial (scarring) alopecia is a group of disorders in which permanent hair loss results from replacement of hair follicles by fibrosis or hyalinized collagen, which includes two types: primary such as discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), lichen plano pilaris (LPP), frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), Folliculitis decalvans, and secondary like kerion and burn. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of different types of scarring alopecia in patients referred to Imam Reza Dermatology Clinic in Ardebil in 1397. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 96 patients referred to the dermatology clinic of Imam Reza Hospital, Ardebil, Iran, were evaluated. Epidemiologic and pathologic causes of primary and secondary cicatricial alopecia were analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS version 16 software. Results: The most common causes among patients with primary cicatricial alopecia were DLE (51.16%), LPP (6.25%), acne keloidalis (4.16%), folliculitis decalvans (2.08%), FFA (2.08%) and pseudopelade of Brocq 1.04%). In patients with secondary cicatricial alopecia the most common causes were kerion (55.2%), followed by morphea cutaneous lymphoma and burn (1.04%). Conclusion: Considering that the majority of patients in rural area had kerion (92.45%), we can prevent the spread of the disease by improving hygiene standards as an important factor in controlling this disease in order to early diagnosis and treatment.