Clinico-epidemiology of Keratosis Pilaris with Histopathologic and Dermoscopic Evaluation – A Cross-sectional Study in a Rural Tertiary Hospital

Background: Keratosis pilaris (KP) is characterized by keratin-filled plugs in the follicular openings and varying degrees of perifollicular erythema. According to the pathophysiology, a keratotic infundibular plug is the result of improper follicular epithelial keratinization. We decided to test this hypothesis by doing dermoscopy and histopathology of patients diagnosed clinically as KP. Aims: To evaluate histopathology and dermoscopy of all clinically proven cases of KP and DLQI in these patients. Methodology: Patients with a clinical diagnosis of KP seen between April 2023 and September 2024 were included in the study. A clinical history was obtained, and histopathological and dermoscopic evaluations were performed on the lesions of KP. The quality of life (QOL) in patients was assessed using DLQI with scores ranging from 0 to 30. Results: Of the 32 patients with KP, 20 of them were males (62.5%), and 80% of them exhibited significant impairment in QOL as reflected by DLQI scores ranging from 11 to 19. Histopathology revealed hyperkeratosis (81%) and keratin deposits in all cases. Dermoscopy showed follicular plug and hair changes in all cases, and the majority of patients had twisted, coiled hair, with perifollicular scales present in 65.6% of cases and erythema in 56.3%. Conclusion: Based on our observations of KP, correlations were made in histopathology and dermoscopic findings with associations and significant impairment in the QOL.