A clinical spectrum of scalp dermatoses in adults presenting to a tertiary referral care centre.

BACKGROUND: Hair and scalp disorders generally are not associated with significant physical morbidity but the psychological impact of visible scalp problems may be very high. The scalp is unique among skin areas in humans, with high follicular density and a high rate of sebum production. The skin of the scalp has several unique features that aid in its critical role of protecting the head. The follicular density is much higher, creating a dark, warm and moist environment. This provides thermal insulation, but also creates an environment conducive to the superficial mycotic infections that play a role in dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, and tinea capitis, and for parasitic infestations such as pediculosis capitis. As there is a paucity of studies on scalp dermatoses in the Indian and the Western literature, a clinical spectrum of these scalp dermatoses can unravel the common clinical manifestations in our population. OBJECTIVES: To study the spectrum of scalp dermatoses in adults. To study the various clinical patterns of scalp dermatoses in adults MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was undertaken from January 2012 to June 2013. All adult patients reporting to the Department Of Dermatology, Sri R.L. Jalappa Hospital and Research centre attached to Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Tamaka, Kolar were evaluated for entry into the study and patients having scalp lesions were enrolled. A detailed history of all such patients was taken including general status of the patient, systemic diseases, medications used, precipitating factors such as sunlight, alcohol, smoking, drugs and trauma. Complete clinical and a thorough scalp examination was performed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Scalp dermatoses are common in adult population, with prevalence of 2.85%. Majority of the patients with scalp dermatoses belonged to the age group of 41-50 years (30.9%), followed by 3rd decade (29.8%).Males (60.8%) were affected more than females (39.2%), with a male: female ratio 1.55:1. Scalp was the initial site of involvement in 73.1% of the cases studied. Lesions exclusively over the scalp were seen in 47.3% of adults. Multiple regions of the scalp were affected in 69.6% of the patients, with parietal area being involved in 57.3% of cases. Inflammatory conditions (72.5%) predominated in our study. The most common dermatosis was psoriasis which constituted 33.3% of cases, followed by seborrhoeic dermatitis(18.7%), pityriasis sicca (11.6%) and vitiligo (9.9%).