Viral-associated trichodysplasia in patients who are immunocompromised

Abstract

Viral-associated trichodysplasia of immunosuppression is a newly described clinicopathologic entity found in patients who are undergoing drug-induced immunosuppression to prevent organ transplant rejection. Patients have numerous erythematous papules concentrated in the central portion of the face and variable degrees of hair loss, most severely affecting facial hair. Histologic findings of facial papules are highly distinctive and unique, and suggest that the entire machinery of the follicular bulb is devoted to the manufacture of inner root sheath-type keratin. Electron microscopy reveals intranuclear viral particles, but precise viral identification has not yet been achieved.