Background: The sonographic characteristics of frontal fibrosing alopecia have been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to perform a colour Doppler ultrasound evaluation in frontal fibrosing alopecia.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study including 99 women with frontal fibrosing alopecia and 40 control subjects was performed using ultrasound equipment with a lineal 18 MHz probe. Three areas were evaluated per patient: the alopecic area (a), the hairline implantation area (b) and healthy scalp (c). The diameter (cm) and flow (m/s) of the two most significant vessels were recorded.
Results: With regard to the hairline implantation area, patients presented higher vessel diameter (0.127 cm vs 0.103 cm, P = .03) and vessel flow (8.183 m/s vs 7.670 m/s, P = .05) than the control group. Vessel diameter was higher in the healthy scalp area in patients than in the control group (0.088 cm vs 0.078 cm, P = .03).
Conclusion: Patients presented higher vessel diameter and flow in the hairline implantation area compared to the control group.
Keywords: Colour Doppler; frontal fibrosing alopecia; scarring alopecia; sonography; ultrasound.
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