Long-term prognosis of alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis: a 10-year or more longitudinal follow-up study = Long-term prognosis of alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis: a 10-year or more longitudinal follow-up study

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Background: The course of alopecia areata (AA) is unpredictable, but the extent of hair loss presentation is known as most important factor indicating poor prognosis in AA. In alopecia totalis (AT) and alopecia universalis (AU), the chance of full recovery is known as less than 10%. However, only few old studies have been reported the natural evolution of severe forms of AA such as AT and AU. Objectives: We investigated the long-term prognosis of individuals with AT and AU. Methods: This study included 186 patients who diagnosed as AT or AU between 1994 and 2005. All patients were contacted by phone by two trained residents. Finally, the long-term assessment of 70 patients was performed because 113 phone numbers were no longer in existence and 3 patients refused phone-interview. Results: Twelve patients out of 70 with AT or AU (17.1%) had complete hair regrowth. Five patients of 24 patients with AT (20.8%) showed complete hair regrowth and 7 patients of 46 patients with AU (15.2%) achieved complete regrowth at follow-up. Seventeen patients out of 70 with AT or AU (24.2%) showed hair regrowth greater than or equal to 90%. Thirty patients with AU (65.2%) still remained alopecic state without improvement, while 5 patients with AT (20.8%) showed no hair regrowth. Conclusion: Our results suggest that long-term prognosis of AT and AU seems more favorable than previously known. However, clinical burden of AT and AU is still substantial.