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Background: Dissecting cellulitis of the scalp (DCS) has a significant impact on the physical well-being and body image of the patient. Since DCS often responds poorly to conventional treatments, there is a need to identify alternative treatment strategies. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) in treating DCS. Methods: Twelve male patients with DCS treated solely with ALA-PDT between June 2022 and June 2023 at our institution were enrolled in this study. Two patients underwent a biopsy before and after treatment for comparison. The efficacy of the treatments was assessed 10 days after treatment by evaluating the symptom scores recorded on medical records and by assessing the photographs acquired before and after treatment. In addition, the impact of the treatment on pain relief and median recurrence rate were also extracted. Results: Out of the 12 enrolled patients, the majority of the patients (75%) had a significant reduction in the nodules or abscesses. The pain relief was significant in 3 patients (25%), and moderate in 7 patients (58.3%). For the subcutaneous sinus tract symptoms, 3 patients (27.3%) showed moderate improvement, and 7 (63.6%) had a mild improvement. Six patients (75%) had mild improvement in their alopecia. The pathology results showed a decrease in the number of lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils within the skin lesions following the administration of ALA-PDT. Conclusion: ALA-PDT can effectively reduce the DCS symptoms and the number of lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils within the skin lesions.

Introduction. A differential diagnostic search is a crucial method for making a final clinical diagnosis. Lack of clinical thinking leads to tactical errors, both in making a diagnosis and in choosing a therapy algorithm. The problem of iatrogeneses especially often arises at the initial stages of patient management.Case descriptions. The paper demonstrates the difficulties of verifying the diagnosis of patients with dermatological pathology on the example of clinical cases. The stages of differential diagnostic search are covered in detail. Practicing physicians stress the importance of timely correct diagnosis and, consequently, the choice of therapy. The study involved a detailed analysis of clinical cases and mistakes causing a delay in diagnosis and wrong choice of therapeutic tactics at the outpatient stage. A clinical case with designated diagnosis is presented and analyzed as an illustrative example. Special attention was given to a complex evaluation of subjective, objective and diagnostic data, the significance of analyzing the development of dermatoses.Conclusion. Careful adherence to diagnostic algorithms will avoid iatrogenic errors and thereby improve the quality of medical care and the quality of life of dermatological patients.

Adel Alsantali,1 Basel Almalki,2 Abdullah Alharbi3 1Department of Dermatology, Hair Disorder Unit, King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Dermatology, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Pathology, King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Adel AlsantaliDepartment of Dermatology, Hair Disorder Unit, King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital, P.O. Box 53893, Jeddah, 21593, Saudi ArabiaEmail santli26@hotmail.comAbstract: Dissecting cellulitis (DC) of the scalp or perifolliculitis capitis abscedens et suffodiens is a rare chronic inflammatory condition of the scalp manifested by perifollicular pustules, nodules, abscesses and sinuses that result into scarring alopecia. Treatment of DC is challenging and often disappointing. We report a 38-year-old male patient with DC for 5 years, and multiple topical and systemic therapies had shown poor effect. This patient achieved excellent response to adalimumab with hair regrowth.Keywords: dissecting cellulitis, perifolliculitis capitis abscedens et suffodiens, adalimumab, TNF-α inhibitor