Studio clinico-dermatoscopico e istopatologico di follicoliti superficiali del cuoio capelluto

This study is based on a retrospective clinical, dermoscopic and histopathology study on the superficial folliculitis of the scalp. Superficial folliculitis of the scalp represented a group of diseases frequently visited in clinical practice, but a few case reports are described in the literature. Their classification can be so difficult, especially for dermatologists without trichological experience, and since today there is no standardized classification. The key to understand this diseases is to know, first of all, the inflammatory characteristics of the infiltrate of the hair follicle. On the basis of the type of inflammatory process, it is possible to find the trigger factors and gives the specific therapy to block the inflammation before creating permanent damage to the follicles with scarring alopecia. The purpose of this study is to describe the diseases that clinically occur as scalp folliculitis, identify the causes and characteristics of the disease, and create a standardized classification. For each type of folliculitis, we tried to describe the clinical features both an objective and subjective point of view, the tools for the diagnosis and the therapy, comparing what is know in the literature. The instruments used in this study were of two types: non-invasive and invasive. The non-invasive tool used was the dermoscopy, a technique that permit to observe at high magnification the scalp and hairs, evaluating the conditions of the skin and hair follicles. The invasive instrument used was skin biopsy in the site of folliculitis with histological examination. It was also performed a culture examination in most cases. Through this clinical, dermoscopic and histopathological retrospective study, we collected all the patients who presented with a clinical aspect of superficial folliculitis of the scalp and find a correlation between the dermoscopic and histological diagnosis.