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seborrheic%20dermatitis
SEBORRHEIC DERMATITIS
Treatment Guideline Chart
Seborrheic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by fine scaling and erythema mostly confined to areas where sebaceous glands are prominent.
Pityrosporum ovale infection is common in seborrheic dermatitis.
The characteristic pattern is based on age group.
In infants it appears as cradle cap. It is a diffuse or focal scaling and crusting on the vertex of the scalp that sometimes accompanied by inflammation.
In young children, there is Tinea amiantacea which is one or several patches of dense, plate-like scales, 2-10 cm in size that appear anywhere on the scalp.
While adolescents have dandruff which are fine, dry, white, non-inflammatory scalp scaling with minor itching.

Seborrheic%20dermatitis Diagnosis

Diagnosis

  • Diagnosis is based on clinical presentation

Disease Severity

  • A new tool to assess the severity of facial seborrheic dermatitis was proposed called SEborrheic Dermatitis Area and Severity Index (SEDASI), a scoring system that divides the face into 4 regions (representing 25% each) to evaluate the extent, presentation pattern, erythema, and scaling degree of the disease

Laboratory Tests

  • Wood’s light can help rule out other conditions of fungal etiology
    • Tinea capitis caused by Trichophyton tonsurans has a dry, white, diffuse scale that does not fluoresce under Wood’s light
  • Dermatoscopy (dermoscopy, incident light microscopy) is another non-invasive technique used to identify morphologic features to differentiate seborrheic dermatitis from other scaling diseases
  • Fungal culture and KOH examination are useful for atypical or resistant cases of scalp scaling
  • Skin biopsies may distinguish seborrheic dermatitis from similar disorders eg psoriasis
    • Presence of epidermal parakeratosis, plugged follicular ostia, and spongiosis confirms seborrheic dermatitis
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