Monthly Archives

August 2025

JDD Podcast: Pspecial Psite Psoriasis Pearls

By Medical Dermatology

psoriasis management strategies

In this golden age of psoriasis treatment strategies, why aren’t more patients clear?

In recognition of Psoriasis Awareness Month, check out this JDD Podcast on psoriasis management. Host and ODAC Co-Chair Dr. Adam Friedman interviews ODAC faculty member Dr. Peter Lio, clinical assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. They pick apart the plethora of topical options to add to available advanced systemics.

Listen and improve your psoriasis management today!

Register for ODAC to see Dr. Lio participate in an expert panel on treatment options beyond topical steroids.

Inpatient Consultations at ODAC with Dr. Olayemi Sokumbi

By ODAC Sessions

best practices in examining a dermatology inpatient

ODAC covers a breadth of topics in dermatology, including how to approach inpatient dermatological consultations. Next Steps in Derm, in partnership with ODAC, interviewed Olayemi Sokumbi, MD, about her ODAC 2025 session on best practices in examining an inpatient.

Watch as Dr. Sokumbi shares three categories you need to consider in your initial exam of an inpatient. Plus hear why a close partnership with a dermatopathologist is important in making an accurate diagnosis.

Register for ODAC 2026 for more pearls and updates in dermatology.

Diagnosing Alopecias: Highlights from ODAC 2025

By ODAC Sessions

diagnosing alopecia

August is Hair Loss Awareness Month. At the 2025 ODAC Dermatology Conference, Ronda Farah, MD, FAAD, shared a comprehensive, systematic approach to diagnosing and managing hair loss, emphasizing clinical precision and patient-centered care.

Initial Evaluation: The “Top Ten” Checklist

Dr. Farah’s diagnostic approach begins within the first minute of the encounter by assessing:

  • Scalp: For erythema, follicular signs, scaling, tenderness, and patterned thinning
  • Hair shaft: For breakage due to chemical or heat damage
  • Nails: For signs like pitting or trachonychia, which suggest alopecia areata or lichen planopilaris
  • Eyebrows: For patchy loss, often seen in frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) or alopecia areata

Diagnostic Tools

She highlighted the value of non-invasive tools:

  • Photodocumentation: An 8-image series to track progress and treatment response
  • Hair pull/tug tests: To detect active shedding or fragility
  • Hair mounts: To examine shaft abnormalities and growth phases
  • Trichoscopy: To distinguish between scarring and non-scarring alopecias
  • Scalp biopsy: For complex or unclear cases

Clinical Pearls from Real Cases

  • Thorough scalp evaluation is essential: Localized hair loss may mask systemic or multifocal disease like alopecia areata or trichotillomania.
  • Differentiate between androgenetic alopecia and CCCA: They may appear similar but show distinct trichoscopic features—miniaturization in androgenetic alopecia, and peripilar halos in CCCA.
  • CCCA has systemic comorbidities: Genetic and fibroproliferative links suggest associations with type 2 diabetes, uterine fibroids, and breast cancer—prompting broader screening.
  • FFA affects more than scalp: Look for eyebrow loss, facial papules, mucocutaneous changes, and even depressed frontal veins.
  • Distinguish from traction alopecia, especially early in the disease course.

Cosmetic Considerations

  • Hair loss affects self-esteem, driving interest in aesthetic treatments.
  • Procedural caution in FFA: Avoid aggressive resurfacing in active disease due to impaired wound healing.
  • Safer options: Non-ablative Nd:YAG laser for facial papules, oral isotretinoin, and carefully placed fillers to balance facial aesthetics.
  • Be aware of rare complications like dermal filler-induced alopecia.

Conclusion

Dr. Farah emphasized that successful hair loss diagnosis and treatment requires a structured clinical framework, attention to subtle physical signs, and appropriate use of diagnostic tools. Her insights underscored the importance of holistic patient evaluation, inclusive of both physical and psychological needs. Mastery of these strategies leads to more accurate diagnoses, improved patient outcomes, and stronger provider-patient relationships.

This session summary was written by Dr. Damien Abreu and published on Next Steps in Derm.