Pityriasis Alba in Emergency Medicine Follow-up

  • Author: Rashid M Rashid, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Pamela L Dyne, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jun 21, 2010
 

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.
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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.[2]
  • Treatment may shorten the duration of the lesions to several weeks in certain cases.
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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.
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Rashid M Rashid, MD, PhD  Resident Physician, Department of Dermatology, University of Texas, Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Morzak Research Initiative

Rashid M Rashid, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, Council for Nail Disorders, Houston Dermatological Society, Texas Dermatological Society, and Texas Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Andrew C Miller, MD  Fellow, Department of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Andrew C Miller, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, 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.

Specialty Editor Board

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.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine

Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

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.

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.

References

  1. Di Lernia V, Ricci C. On atopic and idiopatic extensive pityriasis alba. Pediatr Dermatol. Sep-Oct 2007;24(5):578-9. [Medline].

  2. 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].

  3. 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].

  4. Brenninkmeijer EE, Spuls PI, Legierse CM, Lindeboom R, Smitt JH, Bos JD. Clinical differences between atopic and atopiform dermatitis. J Am Acad Dermatol. Mar 2008;58(3):407-14. [Medline].

  5. 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].

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

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

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

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

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

 
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Note the characteristic, ill-defined, hypopigmented macules in this 6-year-old child with pityriasis alba.
Lesions of pityriasis alba are usually bilateral and located on the face, arms, and neck.
 
 
 
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