Clinical and Histopathological Analysis of 74 Cases of Ashy Dermatosis in Koreans

Kim, Na Hee; Yun, Sook Jung; Lee, Jee Bum; Kim, Seong Jin; Lee, Seung Chul; Won, Young Ho

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Ashy dermatosis is a disorder of pigmentation, characterized by asymptomatic symmetric blue-gray-colored macules of unknown pathophysiology.
OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to evaluate ashy dermatosis in Koreans and to describe its clinical and histopathological features.
METHODS
Medical records, photographs, and biopsy specimens obtained from 74 patients were assessed.
RESULTS
Of the 74 patients, 38 were men and 36 were women. Clinically, most patients showed lesions on the trunk (83.8%), followed by the extremities (44.6%). At the time of the mean age was 29.9 years, and disease duration was 18.4 months before the institution. We tentatively classified the lesions into the following 3 groups: generalized confluent, generalized macular, and localized type. Clinically, the most common lesion was the generalized macular type (67.6%). Peripheral erythematous borders or concomitant erythematous lesions were observed in 18 patients (24.3%). Histopathologically, the lesions showed perivascular inflammation, dermal melanophages, and pigmentary incontinence.
CONCLUSION
Our study classified ashy dermatosis into 3 groups, and this categorization may contribute to a better understanding of ashy dermatosis.