Using high‐resolution ultrasound imaging to characterize dermal striae in human skin

Abstract Background and Objective The improvement in the appearance of the skin with dermal striae (DS) is currently eval‐uated by invasive methods, such as biopsy. This study evaluates whether high‐resolution ultrasound (HRUS) could be used to identify skin lesions in vivo caused by DS, using 2D images and measuring the thickness of the dermal layer. Methods High‐resolution ultrasound at frequencies of 20 and 30 MHz was used in this study in ten volunteers with DS. The thickness of the skin layers was estimated by tracing five vertical lines from epidermis (EP) to dermis (DE) and DE to hypodermis (H) surface. Results The dermal lesions caused by striae appeared in ultrasonic images as poor echo areas. The average normal DE thickness varied from 1.07 to 1.65 mm, while the DE thickness with DS varied between 0.35 and 1.33 mm. A statistically significant reduction in the DE thickness was found ( P ‐value < .05) in the presence of DS. The mean values of the EP thickness without and with DS were 0.12 ± 0.03 mm and 0.11 ± 0.02 mm, respec‐tively. A total of 90.00% of the EP‐related groups did not present the normal distribu‐tion ( P ‐value < .05). Conclusions High‐resolution ultrasound permitted the visualization of the three skin layers and the dermal lesions caused by striae. The dermal layer thicknesses with striae were thinner than those without. Therefore, ultrasound 2D imaging has shown to be a promising and financially feasible tool to be used as a noninvasive diagnostic method for evaluating therapeutic protocols used in the treatment of these dermal conditions.