RT Book, Section
A1 Usatine, Richard P.
A2 Usatine, Richard P.
A2 Smith, Mindy A.
A2 Mayeaux, Jr., E.J.
A2 Chumley, Heidi S.
SR Print(0)
ID 1164359537
T1 Tinea Capitis
T2 The Color Atlas and Synopsis of Family Medicine, 3e
YR 2019
FD 2019
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781259862045
LK dermatology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1164359537
RD 2024/04/19
AB An  11-year-old  boy  has  a  history  of  2  months  of  progressive  patchy  hair  loss  (Figure  143-1).  He  has  some  itching  of  the  scalp,  but  his  mother  is  worried  about  his  hair  loss.  Physical  examination  reveals  alopecia  with  scaling  of  the  scalp  and  broken  hairs  looking  like  black  dots  in  the  areas  of  hair  loss.  A  KOH  preparation  is  created  by  using  a  #15  scalpel  to  scrape  some  scale  and  small  broken  hairs  onto  a  slide.  With  the  help  of  a  fungal  stain  and  KOH,  branching  septate  hyphae  are  seen  under  the  microscope.  The  most  likely  cause  of  this  tinea  capitis  is  Trichophyton  tonsurans;  therefore  4  weeks  of  oral  terbinafine  is  prescribed.  The  tinea  capitis  fully  resolves  and  the  hair  does  grow  back  over  time.