ABSTRACT

Background:

Lichen planus (LP) is a papulosquamous disease that affects skin, mucous membranes, hair and nails. It is a condition that lasts for 1 to 2 years, but may take a chronic, relapsing course over many years.

Objectives:

To study the prevalence and clinical spectrum of lichen planus in Kano, Nigeria.

Material and Methods:

This is a cross sectional observational study of patients who presented at the medical outpatient clinic of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano between August 2011 and October 2013.

Results:

A total of 3,874 patients had various forms of skin diseases during the study period. Out of these, 158, had LP comprising of 68 (43%) males and 90 (57%) females. Lichen planus therefore, accounted for 4% of all dermatology cases that were seen on out- patients’ visit. The patients’ ages ranged from 3 to 68 years, with most of them in the age range of 20 to 49 years.

One hundred and two (64.5%) of them, presented with the classical variant of LP followed by the mixed variant with occurrence in 25 patients (15.4%). Actinic and Bullous variants had the least occurrences with 2, (1.2%) each.

Lichen planus confined to the skin was observed in 152 (96%) of the patients, while skin and mucous membrane involvement was seen in remaining 6 patients (4%) out of which 3 had lesions that involved the oral mucosa. None of the patients in this study presented with lesions restricted to the oral mucosa. The scalp was affected in 12 (7.6%), while genital lesions were seen in 2 patients (1.3%). Nail involvement was observed in 15 (9%) patients. Recurrence of the disease was documented in 29 (18 %) of the patients.

Conclusion:

Lichen planus is not an uncommon condition in Kano, Nigeria as the observed prevalence is similar to the findings in other places. However, mucosal involvement is relatively rare.