Colour Doppler ultrasound study in patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia

Abstract Background The sonographic characteristics of frontal fibrosing alopecia have been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to perform a colour Doppler ultrasound evaluation in frontal fibrosing alopecia. Materials and methods A cross‐sectional study including 99 women with frontal fibrosing alopecia and 40 control subjects was performed using ultrasound equipment with a lineal 18 MHz probe. Three areas were evaluated per patient: the alopecic area (a), the hairline implantation area (b) and healthy scalp (c). The diameter (cm) and flow (m/s) of the two most significant vessels were recorded. Results With regard to the hairline implantation area, patients presented higher vessel diameter (0.127 cm vs 0.103 cm, P = .03) and vessel flow (8.183 m/s vs 7.670 m/s, P = .05) than the control group. Vessel diameter was higher in the healthy scalp area in patients than in the control group (0.088 cm vs 0.078 cm, P = .03). Conclusion Patients presented higher vessel diameter and flow in the hairline implantation area compared to the control group.