Abstract:

Gu Ankang, Zhang Junling, Liu Yujie, Kong Xiangjun, Xiao Yin, Ji Hua′an Department of Pathology, Tianjin Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospital, Tianjin 300120, China （Gu AK, Xiao Y, Ji HA）; Department of Dermatology, Tianjin Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospital, Tianjin 300120, China （Zhang JL, Liu YJ, Kong XJ） Corresponding author: Gu Ankang, Email: guankang163.com@163.com 【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the clinical and reflectance confocal microscopy （RCM） characteristics of hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection. Methods A retrospective study was carried out on 26 cases of hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection. The clinical manifestations, RCM characteristics and treatment outcomes of hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection were analyzed in these cases. Results Of the 26 patients, 22 were female and 4 were male. Lesions were round or oval, pale white or white patches with obscure boundaries. Different degrees of localized skin atrophy occurred in 15 patients, and subcutaneous venous networks were observed in 8 of the 15 patients. RCM imaging of lesions in the 26 cases showed different degrees of epidermal thinning in the areas of hypopigmentation, shortening or disappearance of trochanterellus, and decreased number or disappearance of chromocytes in the basal layer, which were totally different from RCM characteristics of vitiligo lesions. Conclusion Hypopigmentation induced by local glucocorticoid injection is a kind of depigmentation disease complicated by skin atrophy with definite inducements, and RCM is of great value to its diagnosis.