Review of the diagnosis and management of pediatric psychodermatologic conditions: Part I

Noninfectious causes of alopecia in the pediatric population

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To highlight recent advances in the knowledge base surrounding noninfectious causes of alopecia in the pediatric population.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent developments in the literature included assessments of treatment efficacy, diagnostic utility of trichoscopy, and retrospective studies characterizing the clinical picture of pediatric cases.

SUMMARY

These findings will equip practitioners with the recent advances in the field's understanding of noninfectious causes of alopecia in the pediatric population.

Delusions of parasitosis and delusions of parasitosis by proxy in a mother and her children

Delusions of parasitosis by proxy is an uncommon entity wherein an individual projects a delusional belief onto another person who lacks capacity to hold the same belief. We report a case of delusions of parasitosis by proxy in a mother who believed that she was infested with scabies and projected her fixed, delusional belief of scabies infestation onto her children. She subjected her children to numerous home remedies and medical treatments as well as removing them from school in an effort to cure them of the supposed infestation. Child maltreatment can be a concern in such cases with a low threshold for involving child protective services if harm to the children is suspected.