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Published on: January 27, 2018
Superficial Cryotherapy versus Intralesional Corticosteroids Injection in Alopecia Areata: A Trichoscopic Comparative
Mahira Hamdy El Sayed1, Nour El-Dissouki Ibrahim2, Ahmed Abdelfattah Afify1
1Department of Venereology and Andrology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Background:
Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease leading to noncicatricial alopecia. Topical or intralesional corticosteroid (ILCS) is the accepted therapeutic option for mild cases; however, adverse effects are sometimes difficult to reverse. When the exposure to liquefied nitrogen is limited to a few seconds "superficial" cryotherapy, reactive vasodilation may improve microcirculation and nutritional status around hair follicles.
Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate and compare superficial cryotherapy and ILCS in the treatment of patchy AA.
Materials And Methods:
This prospective comparative study included 21 patients with patchy AA. Every patient received superficial cryotherapy on one patch, every 2 weeks for 3 months, and ILCS injection for another patch, once monthly for 3 months.
Results:
Clinical improvement was higher in cryotherapy group compared to ILCS group with a statistically significant difference (P = 0.002). On trichoscopic evaluation, terminal hair count was improved in lesions treated with cryotherapy more than lesions treated with ILCS but without statistical significance (P = 0.595) and vellus hair count was improved in lesions treated with cryotherapy more than lesions treated with ILCS with a statistical significance (P = 0.002).
Conclusions:
Cryotherapy is more effective and less painful than ILCS in the treatment of patchy AA.
