Alopecia totalis treated with oral mini-pulse (OMP) therapy with betamethasone

An 8-year-old girl having alopecia areata which progressed to alopecia totalis in 1½ years showed an incomplete regrowth of the hair when treated with our standard regime of 1 mg betamethasone per day orally in spite of the treatment having been continued for 8 months. She had also increased her body weight by 4 kg during this period. On instituting the OMP regime consisting of 5 mg betamethasone as a single oral dose with breakfast on two consecutive days per week, she showed complete regrowth of the hair over the entire scalp during the next 3 months, and there were no side effects. We recommend OMP as another choice for patients having alopecia areata especially in recalcitrant cases where the treatment has to be given for prolonged periods.