April Week 1 (by Dr Dixon)
A 8 year old boy is brought to the pediatrician by his mother who is
concerned that she has noticed round patches of circular hair loss in
his scalp over the past month. The boy seems shy and embarassed as
his mother points to the circular, hairless, smooth patches that are
on the back of his scalp. She denies any history of hairloss in the
boy, herself, or other family members. The patient is otherwise
generally healthy, growing at the 50% for height and weight and the
rest of his physical exam is benign. There are no other areas of
hairloss. The boy denies picking at hair or purposefully trying to
pull hairs out.
1) What are the most common causes of hair loss in the pediatric population?
2) What do you think the diagnosis is in this case?
3) Mom wants to know “what caused this.” What do you say? She also
wants to know “if the hair will return.” Your response?
4) Would you order any labs?
5) Is superinfection typically associated with this diagnosis? Which
diagnoses are typcially accompanied by superinfection?