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Differentiation of pityriasis rubra pilaris from plaque psoriasis by dermoscopy

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Abstract

Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) and plaque psoriasis (PP) are two distinctive erythemato-squamous skin diseases that often have to be differentiated from each other and from other similar dermatoses. Dermoscopy has been proven to aid the clinical diagnosis of several inflammatory disorders, minimizing the need for skin biopsy. Our aim was to determine the dermoscopic patterns of PRP compared to PP and to assess the significance of certain dermoscopic criteria in the diagnosis of PRP. This case–control study included 11 patients with biopsy proven PRP and 25 patients with biopsy proven plaque psoriasis. The most recently developed lesion of each patient was examined by non-contact dermoscopy. Whitish keratotic plugs and linear vessels in yellowish background are significant dermoscopic features of PRP compared to white diffuse scales and dotted vessels in a light red background in PP. In conclusion, PRP and PP reveal specific distinguishing dermoscopic patterns that may assist in their clinical diagnosis and may also be useful for the differential diagnosis from other resembling dermatoses.

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Correspondence to S. A. Ismail.

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We, the authors, declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in our study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. We got the approval of our institution ethical committee before the beginning of the study.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. All patients signed the written informed consent after detailed explanation of the steps of the study, including their approval to publish their photos in case we need to do so.

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Abdel-Azim, N.E., Ismail, S.A. & Fathy, E. Differentiation of pityriasis rubra pilaris from plaque psoriasis by dermoscopy. Arch Dermatol Res 309, 311–314 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-017-1727-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-017-1727-2

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