Trichogram study on 149 Iranian patients

Background: Diagnosis of the most common hair and scalp disorders is expectable just by clinic and routine physical examinations, but when encountered difficulty in diagnosis, appropriate therapeutic or prognostic approaches would be of serious importance. trichogram is one of the methods helps in uncertainties.Methods and materials: This cross sectional study has been done on 149 patients with hair problems, from April 2006 to July 2011, in Razi Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Results reported based on sex, age sub-categories (0-10, 10-25, 25-50, > 50) and diagnosis of hair problem (hair shaft or hair bulb anomalies, unclassified and normal) also seasonal variations.Results: Most prevalent age category was 0-10 years (43.62 %) and most prevalent type of finding in trichogram was in hair shaft anomaly (38.9%). Among patients with hair shaft anomaly, the most prevalent age group was 0-10 years (43.1%) and then 10-25 years (29.3%) and also hair shaft fracture like changes was the most prevalent anomaly (62%). In the case of only bulb disorder, we found premature catagen-telogen anomalies (like Telogen effluvium) as the most prevalent ones (76%).Conclusion: Trichogram is a valuable diagnostic method for approaching complicated cases of hair disorder especially in the case of hair shaft fragility anomalies in children also the abnormal anagen/catagen-telogen ratio in patients with bulbar involvement.