Background: Although vitiligo shows a similar clinical picture to other disorders\nin which patients exhibit depigmented spots, there are few reports on\nthe differentiation of these conditions from each other. Purpose: We aimed to\ninvestigate the differences and similarities between vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus\nin children based on the clinical course and characteristics. Materials\nand Methods: We conducted an examination of the disease type, treatment,\nprogress, and differentiation of 85 cases of vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus\nthat developed before 15 years of age among patients who visited\nthe Osaka University Department of Dermatology with a chief complaint of\nwhite patches from January 2010 to March 2017. Results: The median age at\nthe onset of symptoms of 79 patients with vitiligo was 4.5 years and while that\nof 6 patients with nevus depigmentosus was 0.8 years, indicating that the onset\nof nevus depigmentosus occurred earlier. While vitiligo often developed in\nthe head and neck regions, with a tendency for depigmented spots in multiple\nregions, nevus depigmentosus did not show this tendency in these regions.\nUpon performing Woodâ??s lamp observation in 38 cases of vitiligo, 35 cases\nwere found to be fluorescent chalky white and in 3 cases histologically diagnosed\nas vitiligo, no clear fluorescent color was observed. All 6 patients diagnosed\nwith nevus depigmentosus exhibited a non-fluorescent off-white color\nunder a Woodâ??s lamp. Conclusions: This study indicates that non-invasive\nobservation using a Woodâ??s lamp is useful in the differential diagnosis of pediatric\nleukoderma, in addition to the subsequent clinical course, such as the\npresence or absence of lesional repigmentation and/or enlargement.
Loading....