Ashy Dermatosis or Lichen Planus Pigmentosus: What Is in a Name?

To the Editor.—  I am prompted to write this letter after reading the article "Unilateral Ashy Dermatosis Occurring in a Child" by Urano-Suehisa et al¹ in the Archives. The authors listed several names for the condition, save perhaps the most apt one—lichen planus pigmentosus (LPP).² The authors pointed out that the histologic features of skin lesions from their patient were similar to those seen in lichen planus (LP) and that Tschen et al³ and Naidorf and Cohen⁴ had drawn attention to a histologic parallelism between ashy dermatosis and LP. When my colleagues and I first designated ashy dermatosis as LPP, we were guided by our histologic observation of a lichenoid appearance of pigmented macules and by the association with other forms of LP in about one third of our patients.² Tschen et al³ concurred with our views, and Naidorf and Cohen, while agreeing with