Total alopecia and vascular malformation: a random association or a prognostic factor?

Abstract

Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic recurrent autoimmune disease that leads to a deterioration in the quality of life. And capillary malformation (CM) occurs in 1/3 of AA patients. Aim. To identify the connection of one of the forms of AA with CM in the occipital region. Materials and methods. 18 patients with total alopecia (TA), 5 men and 13 women were under observation. The age ranged from 26 to 58 years, the duration of the disease ranged from 1 to 29 years. To determine the relationship between CM and TA, the odds ratio was used with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results. The study showed the occurrence of CM in patients with TA in 94.4%. The correlation of CM and TA turned out to be statistically significant in comparison with the control group. Conclusion. The results indicate that there is a reliable relationship between CM and TA, which allows us to conclude that CM is associated with severe forms of alopecia. In addition, CM can be a valuable marker and prognostic factor indicating the development of more severe forms and course of AA.

Keywords

• total alopecia
• vascular malformation
• prognostic factor