Dermoscopy and Light Microscopy as an Aid to the Diagnosis of the Most Common Genital Parasitoses

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Dear Editor,

Pediculosis pubis and genital scabies are the two most frequent sexually transmitted parasitic diseases [1]. The clinical picture is often sufficient for the diagnosis, but if uncertain, optical diagnostic tools such as dermoscopy with polarized light and light microscopy can be of help. In Phthirus pubis infestations, epiluminescence microscopy (ELM) allows a clear visualization of the louse and its nits (Fig. 1a). In genital scabies lesions, dermatoscopic examination usually allows to appreciate the typical burrows at the level of the epidermis with a small dark V-shaped triangle at the end indicative of Sarcoptes scabiei (delta-wing jet sign) [2, 3] (Fig. 1b); if despite this examination the diagnosis remains uncertain, a small blade can be used to shave the lesion or scratch the affected area and analysis of the sample via microscopic examination can be performed. A low magnification (10X) allows to quickly identify the mite and/or indirect signs of its presence (eggs and feces) (Fig. 1c), while higher magnifications (20X) allow to appreciate the mite with greater details (Fig. 1d).

Author’s contribution Study conception and design by CF and AJ. Data analysis by CF. Literature review/study results interpretation by CF. Final manuscript draft/editing by CF and AJ.

Funding None.

Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Declarations
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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