eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Dermatology

Pityriasis Alba: Follow-up

Author: Rashid M Rashid, MD, PhD, Post-Graduate Year 2 and House Staff Resident, Department of Dermatology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas and The Morzak Center
Coauthor(s): Andrew C Miller, MD, Chief Resident and Clinical Assistant Instructor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Kings County Hospital Center; Mark A Silverberg, MD, FACEP, MMB, Assistant Professor, Assistant Residency Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital, Kings County Hospital, University Hospital, State University of New York Downstate at Brooklyn
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jun 11, 2009

Follow-up

Further Outpatient Care

  • Outpatient follow-up for patients with pityriasis alba generally is provided by a primary care provider.
  • Extensive or recalcitrant cases may need the care of a dermatologist.

Prognosis

  • Depigmentation is not permanent.
  • Pityriasis alba generally is self-limited, and the lesions typically resolve by adulthood.
  • The duration of symptoms is different for each patient. Parents should be aware lesions may persist for many months. Reports note persistence up to one year.1
  • Treatment may shorten the duration of the lesions to several weeks in certain cases.

Patient Education

  • Education should focus on the lack of permanency of the dermatitis.
  • Prolonged steroid therapy, especially on the face, is not necessary and may lead to toxicity.
  • Pityriasis alba lesions usually fade as the child grows older.

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Failure to address other causes of hypopigmentation such as vitiligo or tinea versicolor
  • Failure to diagnose mycosis fungoides in a patient with persistent lesions
 
Acknowledgments

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous authors, Dara A Kass, MD, Richard H Sinert, DO, and Reza Keshavarz, MD, to the development and writing of this article.



More on Pityriasis Alba

Overview: Pityriasis Alba
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Pityriasis Alba
Treatment & Medication: Pityriasis Alba
Follow-up: Pityriasis Alba
Multimedia: Pityriasis Alba
References
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References

  1. Vinod S, Singh G, Dash K, Grover S. Clinico epidemiological study of pityriasis alba. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. Nov-Dec 2002;68(6):338-40. [Medline].

  2. In SI, Yi SW, Kang HY, Lee ES, Sohn S, Kim YC. Clinical and histopathological characteristics of pityriasis alba. Clin Exp Dermatol. Jul 2009;34(5):591-7. [Medline].

  3. Fujita WH, McCormick CL, Parneix-Spake A. An exploratory study to evaluate the efficacy of pimecrolimus cream 1% for the treatment of pityriasis alba. Int J Dermatol. Jul 2007;46(7):700-5. [Medline].

  4. Lin RL, Janniger CK. Pityriasis alba. Cutis. Jul 2005;76(1):21-4. [Medline].

  5. Ortonne JP, Passeron T. Melanin pigmentary disorders: treatment update. Dermatol Clin. Apr 2005;23(2):209-26. [Medline].

  6. Rakel RE, Bope ET. Conn's Current Therapy 2005. 57th ed. St Louis: WB Saunders; 2005:999.

  7. Sams WM. Principles and Practice of Dermatology. New York: Churchill; 1990:369.

  8. Vargas-Ocampo F. Pityriasis alba: a histologic study. Int J Dermatol. Dec 1993;32(12):870-3. [Medline].

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Further Reading

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Keywords

pityriasis alba, extensive pityriasis alba, hypopigmentation, hypopigmented dermatitis, scaly skin, white skin, atopic dermatitis, atopy, atopic disease, tinea versicolor 

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Rashid M Rashid, MD, PhD, Post-Graduate Year 2 and House Staff Resident, Department of Dermatology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas and The Morzak Center
Rashid M Rashid, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, Council for Nail Disorders, Houston Dermatological Society, and Texas Medical Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Andrew C Miller, MD, Chief Resident and Clinical Assistant Instructor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Kings County Hospital Center
Andrew C Miller, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, Emergency Medicine Residents Association, Islamic Medical Association of North America, Medical Society of the State of New York, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Mark A Silverberg, MD, FACEP, MMB, Assistant Professor, Assistant Residency Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital, Kings County Hospital, University Hospital, State University of New York Downstate at Brooklyn
Mark A Silverberg, MD, FACEP, MMB is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

David A Peak, MD, Assistant Residency Director of Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency, Attending Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital; Consulting Staff, Department of Hyperbaric Medicine, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
David A Peak, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Mark W Fourre, MD, Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Maine Medical Center; Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Vermont School of Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Pamela L Dyne, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine/Emergency Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
Pamela L Dyne, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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