Frequency of clinical variants of lichen planus in dermatology out-patients in Kerman

Background and aim: Lichen planus (LP) is an inflammatory papulosquamous disease that affects skin, mucous membranes, nails and hair. As the disease presents in various clinical types, the objective of this study was to determine the frequency of clinical variants of LP in dermatological out-patients in Kerman. Materials and methods: In this study 300 patients with LP were evaluated during 1382-83 in dermatological out-patients in Kerman. Diagnosis was based on clinical features and skin biopsy. The demographic features including age, sex, and the clinical pictures of the disease including clinical types, site of involvement, duration of the disease and associated diseases were assessed. The hepatitis B surface antigen, anti hepatitis B core antibody, hepatitis C antibody and liver function tests were measured. Results: Patients consisted of 167 men (55.5%) and 133 women (44.5%) with a mean age of 32.4 years and a mean duration of 11.6% months. The age of patients ranged from 4 to 78 years, most being in the age range from 30 to 50 years. The majority of patients (70.6%) had classical lesions followed by mucosal (65%), annular (21%), hypertrophic (19%), and lichen nitidus (18%). The dermatomal type obtained the least frequency (2.6%). Upper extremity was the most frequent site of onset (70.6%). Mucosal involvement was observed in 65% and nail and hair changes were observed in 33.6% and 6.6% of patients, respectively. Pruritus was the chief complaint of the majority of patients. Conclusion: Classic LP was the most common type and extremities were the most common site of involvement in this study.