Efficacy and Safety of Intralesional Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection in The Treatment of Alopecia Areata

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic, immune mediated inflammatory disorder of anagen hair follicles leading to relapsing, nonscarring hair loss. Many therapies are available for the treatment of AA, including topical, systemic, and injectable modalities however, these treatment methods produce variable clinical outcomes and there are no currently available treatments that induce and sustain remission. Intralesional injection of corticosteroids (ILCs) is considered relatively simple, effective, and minimally invasive. Objective: The aim of the work wasto investigate the efficacy and safety of intralesional Triamcinolone acetonide injection in the treatment of AA. Patients and methods: Thirty-six patients suffering from AA were included in the study. All patients were subjected to complete history taking, general examination and dermatological examination for evaluation of site, size of the patches and type of Alopecia. Confirmation of diagnosis was done by dermoscopy. Evaluation of severity of the disease using SALT scoring system was done. After that, all the patients were treated by ILCs (Triamcinolone acetonide). 5 mg/ml of Triamcinolone acetonide was injected and the Injections were repeated every 4 weeks. Patients were assessed clinically at baseline and every month till the end of the sessions and were asked about their satisfaction on hair growth. Side effects were also monitored every session during and after injection. Results: Hair growth after Intralesional Triamcinolone Acetonide treatment ranged from 0 to 5. 5.6% of patients showed excellent response, 5.6% showed very good response, 55.6% showed good response, 5.6% showed moderate response, 16.7% showed mild response while four patients showed poor response. Side effects were minimal like pain and atrophy (11.1%). Conclusion: Intralesional Triamcinolone acetonide injection is safe and effective in the treatment of alopecia areata.