Korean J Dermatol.  2019 Dec;57(10):600-607.

Clinical Observation of N-acetylcysteine in the Treatment of Child Trichotillomania

• Kim CJ
• Choi H
• Na CH
• Shin BS
• Kim MS

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Trichotillomania (TTM) is a medical condition that involves recurrent and irresistible urges to pull out their own hair. TTM generally follows a chronic course in most patients and is difficult to treat and manage. Recently, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has shown efficacy in the treatment of TTM.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of treatment with NAC in trichotillomania children younger than 13 years of age.
METHODS
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of treatment with NAC in trichotillomania children younger than 13 years of age.
RESULTS
The mean age of patients was 10.7 years; 8 were boys and 7 were girls. They presented with several asymptomatic focal patches of hair loss with different hair lengths on scalp. The dermoscopic findings were broken hairs, v-sign hairs, coiled hairs, and focal erythema. 10 out of 15 patients had a good response to NAC, whereas 5 patients did not respond to the treatment. The differences between the 2 groups were the treatment duration and total NAC doses. The effective group had a mean NAC of 973 mg/day for 11.5 weeks, while the non-effective group had a 1060 mg/day dose for 4 weeks.
CONCLUSION
NAC could be an effective and safe treatment option for TTM in children.

Keyword

Child; NAC; N-acetylcysteine; Trichoscopy; Trichotillomania

MeSH Terms

Acetylcysteine*
Child*
Erythema
Female
Hair
Humans
Scalp
Trichotillomania*
Acetylcysteine