Childhood lichen planus: a report of fifty cases.

Lichen planus is an uncommonly encountered dermatosis in children. In the present study of 50 children the limbs were the most common site of involvement (70.0%). A majority of the children (60.0%) presented with the classic form of the disease. Hypertrophic lesions were present in 26.0% of children while linear lesions were seen in 8.0%. There was no scalp, nail, or hair involvement in any child. The Koebner phenomenon was observed in 28.0%, and mucosal involvement, which is very uncommon in children affected by lichen planus, was seen in 30.0%. In this subset of children, hypertrophic lesions were seen in 53.4% while widespread disease was present in only 6.7%. The response to treatment and the course of the disease were similar to that seen in adults.