Hair Loss

A frequently overlooked topic in general outpatient medicine, but should always be thoroughly evaluated and treated since it can be psychologically quite damaging to the patient and may be an indicator of underlying systemic disease.

A good article from the AFP, 2009 on the differential and treatments.

Name the diagnosis given the description and give a brief pathophysiological description of the diagnosis:

1. Focal, non-scarring, well-demarcated, normal scalp. Tip-off - exclamation point hairs.

2. Diffuse hair thinning in an elderly woman. Frontal hairline intact.

3. Focal hair loss with scaling scalp

4. Psych patient with patchy hair loss

5. Large amount of diffuse hair loss. 3 months ago the patient was in the ICU for a severe pneumonia.

Answers