DERMOSCOPIC FEATURES OF PIGMENTARY DISORDERS IN INDIAN SKIN : A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Introduction : Several studies have shown dermoscopy as an easily accessible tool for assisting the noninvasive diagnosis of various general dermatological disorders. The present study was conducted to evaluate the use of dermoscopy for diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions. Methods:In this Observational & Analytical study after Multi-staged Random sampling 100 study subjects /Patients were selected having various pigmentary lesions which were later evaluated by dermoscope. All the photographs were captured using android mobile camera and dermlite DL4 hybrid dermoscope (both polarised and nonpolarized). Results: Among the 100 patients /participants studied, 40% were males &60 % were females with the range of age between 3 to 60 years . The most common pigmentary lesions found were melasma (20%), Vitiligo (12%) , pityriasis versicolor(10%) among other types. Conclusion: Dermoscopy may result in confirmation of clinical diagnosis, oftenavoiding the need for a skin biopsy. Appreciation of the post-treatment effect via dermoscopy oftenprecedes clinical improvement this is especially true of chronic relapsing, recalcitrant dermatoses like melasma, lichen planus pigmentosus (LPP), vitiligo, alopecias, etc.Explaining the natureof the disorder becomes easier by patients showing the lesionaldermoscopic image to the patient.