Clinical, dermoscopic, and histopathological evaluations of patients with nail disorders

This study aimed to assess the possible role of dermoscopy in the diagnosis of different nail disorders compared with the clinical and histopathological diagnosis.

This study included 104 patients with nail disorders of both sex and any age. All the patients were subjected to a detailed medical history taken, clinical general examination, clinical and dermoscopic examinations of 20 nails. Potassium hydroxide examination was used to examine all patients with suspicious of onychomycosis. Histopathological evaluation was used to examine clinically ambiguous nail disorders.

The most common nail diseases were onychomycosis (54.81%) followed by nail psoriasis (19.2%) and nail lichen planus (3.8%).

Clinical evaluation was important in the diagnosis of different nail diseases. Nail dermoscopy could confirm clinical diagnosis and help in getting an accurate diagnosis of nail diseases and guide in the management of nail diseases by permitting better visualization of nail structure and pathology. The histopathological examination provided the most definitive method in reaching an accurate diagnosis due to it could provide etiologic, diagnostic, and prognostic information. There was a good agreement between clinical, dermoscopic, and histopathological examinations for accurate diagnosis of different nail diseases.