Utility of polarized dermoscopy in the diagnosis of cutaneous lupus erythematosus and morphea

Dermoscopy is a non-invasive in vivo technique to help visualize morphological structures on the surface and subsurface of the skin, non-visible with the naked eye. It is tipically used to improve the diagnostic accuracy of pigmented skin lesions and skin tumors, but in recent years its use has been extended to other dermatological conditions. The use of polarized light in dermoscopy allows a better visualization of vascular structures and other changes in the dermis such as collagen depositin and fibrosis, which would make it a good tool for clinical orientation in inflammatory conditions such as cutaneous lupus erythematosus and morphea, considered in the spectrum of autoimmune connective tissue diseases, with diverse clinical cutaneous manifestations. Up to date studies of dermoscopic clues in these two entities are still scarce and results are not uniform. We performed a retrospective analysis of dermoscopic images in patients with pathological confirmation of the clinical diagnosis in order to find the common features and clues for dermoscopic diagnosis.