Objective To investigate reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) characteristics of childhood hypopigmented lichen striatus.Methods RCM was performed to image skin lesions and perilesional normal skin in 11 children with hypopigmented lichen striatus.Then,confocal microscopic findings of the skin lesions were compared with pathological findings.Results Histopathological examination of the skin lesions showed mild intercellular and intracellular edema,thickening of prickle cell layer to different extent,local liquefaction degeneration of basal cells,and perivascular infiltration of plenty of lymphocytes and a few melanophages in the superficial dermis.RCM horizontal images showed multifocal liquefaction degeneration of basal cells,which caused indistinct dermo-epidermal junction,incomplete or unclear dermal papillary rings,infiltration of many highly refractive melanophages and slightly to moderately refractive inflammatory cells in papillary and superficial dermis.Conclusion RCM characteristics can serve as strong evidences for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of childhood hypopigmented lichen striatus.

Objective To analyze and compare reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) features between Paget's disease and eczema on the scrotum.Methods RCM was performed to image scrotal lesions of 5 male patients with suspected Paget's disease and 5 male patients with eczema.Then,the scrotal lesions were resected and subjected to histopathological examination,and a comparison was conducted between the confocal microscopic and pathological findings.Results RCM imaging for the 5 cases of Paget's disease showed disorganized epidermal structure,absence of normal honeycomb structures,single or clustered pagetoid cells in the prickle cell layer.RCM imaging for the 5 cases of eczema showed intercellular edema in the prickle cell layer,reticular degeneration of blisters in all the cases,and pustule formation in some cases.Conclusion RCM features are obviously different between Paget's disease of the scrotum and scrotal eczema,so RCM imaging can facilitate the early diagnosis of Paget's disease.

Objective To investigate the clinical and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) characteristics of hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection.Methods A retrospective study was carried out on 26 cases of hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection.The clinical manifestations,RCM characteristics and treatment outcomes of hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection were analyzed in these cases.Results Of the 26 patients,22 were female and 4 were male.Lesions were round or oval,pale white or white patches with obscure boundaries.Different degrees of localized skin atrophy occurred in 15 patients,and subcutaneous venous networks were observed in 8 of the 15 patients.RCM imaging of lesions in the 26 cases showed different degrees of epidermal thinning in the areas of hypopigmentation,shortening or disappearance of trochanterellus,and decreased number or disappearance of chromocytes in the basal layer,which were totally different from RCM characteristics of vitiligo lesions.Conclusion Hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection is a kind of depigmentation disease complicated by skin atrophy with definite inducements,and RCM is of great value to its diagnosis.