A Dermoscopy Subpattern of Plaque-Type Psoriasis

Dermatoscopy aids in the diagnosis of the solitary red scaly patch or plaque–features distinguishing superficial basal cell carcinoma, intraepidermal carcinoma, and psoriasis

“…Red globular rings (specificity 100%) and radial capillaries (specificity 98%), although highly specific features of psoriasis, were seen infrequently in our series. Interestingly, red globules, which were reported to be present in every case by Vazquez-Lopez et al, 9,12 were observed in only 32% of cases in our series and, although still very specific for psoriasis (88%), their presence was not the strongest criterion. This difference in findings is likely a result of the variable terminology used between studies, specifically relating to the definition of red dots, globules, and glomerular vessels.…”

“…2 Several previous studies, of limited size, have described some dermatoscopic features of IEC, [3][4][5][6][7] sBCC, 8 and psoriasis. [9][10][11][12] No study to date has examined the dermatoscopic features that best help to differentiate these 3 common and clinically similar entities. In the current study we set out to identify these dermatoscopic features.…”

Dermoscopic Pattern of Psoriatic Lesions on Specific Body Sites

“…evaluated the dermoscopic images for the presence of predefined criteria. The selection of dermoscopic variables was based on the available literature and included: (1) vascular morphology (dotted and/or linear); (2) vascular arrangement (regular: homogeneous distribution within the lesion; patchy: arranged in clusters in an irregular, nonspecific pattern; peripheral: arranged mainly at the periphery of the lesion; or in rings: red globules distributed in rings or polygons adjacent to each other); (3) scale color (white and/or yellow); and (4) scale distribution (patchy, peripheral, diffuse, or central) [2,3,4,8]. The definitions of selected variables was based on a previous study of our group assessing the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy for the diagnosis of PP [8].…”

“…The dermoscopic criteria of plaque psoriasis (PP) were first described more than a decade ago, while further research revealed that a repetitive dermoscopic pattern of regularly distributed red dots and white scales typifies virtually all psoriatic plaques, including clinically atypical cases [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Recently, dermoscopy was assessed as an accurate method to differentiate between PP and other inflammatory skin diseases commonly included in the differential diagnosis, namely dermatitis, lichen planus and pityriasis rosea [8].…”

Alternative uses of dermoscopy in general dermatology

“…Vessels appear dermoscopically as small red dots that are symmetrical and regularly distributed throughout the psoriasis lesions, in which it characterizes and specifies the diagnosis of psoriasis [8] . Although relatively uncommon, -red globular rings‖ have also been described as a dermoscopic sub-pattern of plaque-type psoriasis, but are rather rare [9] . Using higher magnifications (100X-400X), the psoriatic vessels appear as convoluted loops, mirroring the underlying histopathological finding of curly capillaries within the dermal papillae, which are associated with the psoriasiform epidermal hyperplasia [10] .…”