Background: Primary cicatricial alopecia (PCA) is a rare disease that causes irreversible destruction of hair follicles and affects the quality of life (QOL). Objective: We aimed to investigate the disease awareness, medical use behavior, QOL, and real-world diagnosis and treatment status of patients with PCA. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was administered to patients with PCA and their dermatologists. Patients aged between 19 and 75 years who visited one of 27 dermatology departments between September 2021 and September 2022 were included. Results: In total, 274 patients were included. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.47, with a mean age of 45.7 years. Patients with neutrophilic and mixed PCA were predominantly male and younger than those with lymphocytic PCA. Among patients with lymphocytic PCA, lichen planopilaris was the most common type, and among those with neutrophilic PCA, folliculitis decalvans was the most common type. Among the total patients, 28.8% were previously diagnosed with PCA, 47.0% were diagnosed with PCA at least 6 months after their first hospital visit, 20.0% received early treatment within 3 months of disease onset, and 54.4% received steady treatment. More than half of the patients had a moderate to severe impairment in QOL. Topical/intralesional steroid injections were the most common treatment. Systemic immunosuppressants were frequently prescribed to patients with lymphocytic PCA, and antibiotics were mostly prescribed to patients with neutrophilic PCA. Conclusion This study provides information on the disease awareness, medical use behavior, QOL, diagnosis, and treatment status of Korean patients with PCA. This can help dermatologists educate patients with PCA to understand the necessity for early diagnosis and steady treatment.

Background: Scabies, a common contagious skin disease caused by ectoparasites, is a significant public health concern in healthcare facilities, including tertiary hospitals. Objective: This study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients who were diagnosed with scabies. We focused on determining whether patient-related factors such as height, weight, underlying diseases, mobility, mental alertness, cognitive impairment, catheter insertion, and the presence of caregivers influenced the failure of the initial diagnosis or treatment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 81 patients who were diagnosed with scabies during hospitalization between January 2011 and June 2023. Results: Of the 81 patients, 45 (55.6%) were male, with a mean age of 76.5 years. The most common primary diagnosis was an infectious disease (66.7%). The main suspected routes of infection were care facilities (63.5%) for patients who already had pruritic skin lesions before admission, and contact with caregivers (80.0%) for patients who developed new skin lesions after admission. The initial consultation failed to diagnose scabies in 19.8% of the patients, and among those, 62.5% had not undergone initial microscopic examination. Patients who were initially misdiagnosed had significantly longer hospitalizations and scabies treatment durations. Among the patients who underwent follow-up microscopic examination after the initial treatment, 60.0% showed positive results. Overall, 54.2% of the patients experienced initial treatment failure. Patient-related factors did not significantly differ between patients with and without initial diagnostic failure and between patients with and without initial treatment failure. Conclusion Dermatologists should consider performing microscopic examinations more frequently in hospitalized patients to improve diagnostic accuracy. Considering the high treatment failure rate, follow-up microscopic evaluation is recommended after initial treatment.

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic disease with an unpredictable course and can have a severe psychological impact on an individual. Objective: To provide evidence and consensus-based statements regarding the treatment of patients with AA in Korea. Methods: We searched for relevant studies from inception to May 2021 regarding the systemic treatment of AA. Evidence-based recommendations were also prepared. The evidence for each statement was graded and classified according to the strength of the recommendations. Hair experts from the Korean Hair Research Society (KHRS) voted on the statement, and an agreement of 75% or greater was considered as having reached consensus. Results: Current evidence supports the efficacy of systemic corticosteroids, oral cyclosporine monotherapy or combination with systemic corticosteroids, and oral Janus kinase inhibitors in severe AA patients. Systemic steroids may be considered for pediatric patients with severe AA. A consensus was achieved in three out of nine (33.3%), and one out of three (33.3%) statements pertaining to systemic treatment in adult and pediatric AA, respectively. Conclusion The present study produced up-to-date, evidence-based treatment guidelines for AA associated with the consensus obtained by experts based on the Korean healthcare system.

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic disease with an unpredictable disease course and severe psychological impact. Objective: To provide evidence- and consensus-based insights regarding the treatment of patients with AA in Korea. Methods: We searched for relevant studies on the topical and device-based treatment of AA in the literature from inception until May 2021. Evidence-based recommendations were also prepared. The evidence for each statement was graded and classified according to the strength of the recommendations. Hair experts from the Korean Hair Research Society (KHRS) voted on the statements, and an agreement of 75% or greater was considered as consensus. Results: Currently, there remains a scarcity of topical treatments, which is supported by robust evidence from a number of high-quality randomized controlled trials. Current evidence supports the efficacy of topical corticosteroids, corticosteroid intralesional injection, and contact immunotherapy in AA patients. Topical corticosteroids and contact immunotherapy are recommended for pediatric AA. A consensus was achieved in 6 out of 14 (42.8%), and 1 out of 5 (20.0%) statements pertaining to topical and device-based treatments in AA, respectively. The expert consensus was from a single country, and the study may not cover all the treatments used. Conclusion The present study provides up-to-date, evidence-based treatment guidelines for AA based on the consensus reached among experts after considering regional healthcare circumstances, adding diversity to the previous guidelines.

Angiofibroma and shagreen patches are common cutaneous manifestations of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and have significant physical and psychological repercussions for patients. Several treatments have been proposed to improve lesions; however, clear treatment guidelines have not yet been presented. Thus, we introduce a case of angiofibroma and shagreen patch improved by application of pulsed dye laser, ablative fractional CO2 laser, and topical rapamycin, and present clinical implications for the treatment of angiofibroma and shagreen patch in TSC.

Background: Pediatric alopecia areata (AA) can affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients and their family members. Research on the QoL and burden on family members in pediatric AA is limited. Objective: This nationwide multicenter questionnaire study described the QoL and burden of the family members of patients with pediatric AA. Methods: This nationwide multicenter questionnaire study enrolled AA patients between the ages of 5 and 18 years from March 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018. Enrolled patients and their parents completed the modified Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and the modified Dermatitis Family Impact (mDFI). The disease severity was measured using the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) survey scores. Results: A total of 268 patients with AA from 22 hospitals participated in this study. Our study found that the efficacy and satisfaction of previous treatments of AA decreased as the severity of the disease increased. The use of home-based therapies and traditional medicines increased with the increasing severity of the disease, but the efficacy felt by patients was limited. CDLQI and mDFI scores were higher in patients with extensive AA than those with mild to moderate AA. The economic and time burden of the family members also increased as the severity of the disease increased. Conclusion The severity of the AA is indirectly proportional to the QoL of patients and their family members and directly proportional to the burden. Physicians need to understand these characteristics of pediatric AA and provide appropriate intervention to patients and their family members.

Background: Umbilical skin lesions are rare but diverse and are rarely diagnosed by biopsy. Objective: This study aimed to analyze the clinical and histopathological features of umbilical skin lesions that require histopathological investigation and to aid in the diagnosis of diseases in patients with umbilical skin lesions. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the patients who visited Korea University Medical center for umbilical skin lesions between January 2008 and December 2019. Age, sex, clinical features, etiologies, and histopathological features were obtained from the patients’ medical records. Results: In total, 41 cases of histologically confirmed umbilical lesions were observed. There were 29 female patients (70.73%). The lesions included hypertrophic scars (11/41), epidermal cysts (7/41), verruca (6/41), seborrheic keratosis (4/41), nevus (4/41), steatocystoma (2/41), and one case each of endometriosis, hidrocystoma, neurofibroma, soft fibroma, foreign body granuloma, tick bite, and heterotopic gastric mucosa. Conclusion The most common umbilical skin lesions were hypertrophic scars, probably because of the increasing number of laparoscopic surgeries. Compared to the known trends in other countries, fewer biopsies were performed on the umbilical lesions for the diagnosis of metastatic cancer in this study, which might have been due to the low incidence of advanced gastric cancer and the early detection of cancer through endoscopy and computed tomography scan in Korea. Clinically, changes in treatment modality and diagnostic development can alter the frequency of the previously well-recognized diseases; therefore, medical personnel should be aware of the changing incidence of related diseases.