Correlation of clinicodermatoscopic and Wood’s lamp findings in patients having melasma

Abstract

Introduction: Melasma is a commonly acquired pigmentary disorder that manifests as symmetric hyperpigmented macules and patches on the face. Aim: To correlate Wood’s lamp and dermatoscopic findings in patients having melasma. Materials and Methods: A total of 80 patients who were clinically diagnosed with melasma were examined under a Wood’s lamp and dermatoscope, and all the findings were recorded and analyzed. Result: The degree of agreement between the Wood’s lamp findings and dermatoscopic findings was found to be substantial as analyzed by kappa statistics with K = 0.813 and P = 0.0001 (significant). Conclusion: Dermatoscopy is advocated globally as a screening and diagnostic procedure for melasma and other pigmentary disorders, especially for earlier therapeutic intervention targeting different stages and mechanisms involved in pathogenesis.

Keywords

• Correlation
• dermoscopy
• melasma
• Wood’s lamp