Chronic Telogen Effluvium: Incidence, Clinical and Biochemical Features, and Treatment

Little has been written about telogen effluvium since the first description by Kligman¹ in 1961, especially about the idiopathic and acute forms as a consequence of certain drug treatments, delivery, and other chronic or acute febrile diseases. In 1996, Whiting² published an excellent article about chronic telogen effluvium. The term refers to a diffuse hair loss that includes the occipital area and persists for more than 8 months without any change. It appears that some dermatologists have not read this article in depth; in our trichological unit we still receive patients with this diagnosis who have been told by their physicians that there is no effective treatment for chronic telogen effluvium.