K.L. Kerkemeyer, J. Green
Background/Objectives: Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is a primary lymphocytic cicatricial alopecia. Management of patients with LPP is rendered difficult due to a paucity of high quality data on epidemiology, pathogenesis and efficacy of therapies. The purpose of this study was to report the demographics, clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of LPP patients in a tertiary referral centre.
Methods: A retrospective review of medical records in patients with LPP seen in the Hair Clinic at the Skin & Cancer Foundation Inc., Melbourne, from 2012 to 2016.
Results: Forty LPP patients (37 females and three males) were included. The onset age ranged from 17–77 years with a mean age of 54.6 ± 13.3 years. Scalp pruritus (80%) and perifollicular erythema (75%) were the most common presenting symptom and sign, respectively. LPP involved the frontal scalp in 60% of patients, vertex in 58%, and temporal in 50%. Wide variations in treatment response were evident. In our cohort, 75% of patients showed improvement with systemic acitretin.
Conclusion: LPP is characterised by marked female predominance and clinically with pruritus, perifollicular erythema and perifollicular scale. The current range of treatments used produced mixed and often unsatisfactory results, in LPP patients. Multicentre, prospective, randomised controlled trials are warranted to provide clearer data on efficacious treatment options.