LAUSR

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels, which can lead to serious complications. Nails are a mirror for general health, so their changes can be an indicator of the disease progression in diabetic patients. OBJECTIVES To detect subclinical nail changes in DM patients with dermoscopy. METHODS One hundred participants from Dermatology, Venereology and, Andrology outpatient clinics were recruited. They were grouped into a diabetic group (50 patients) and an age and sex-matched healthy reference group (50 participants). All patients had clinically free nails. Dermoscopic examinations were conducted and compared between both groups. RESULTS It was found that 33 patients of DM group (66%) had dermoscopic nail findings in the form of microhemorrhage (26%), longitudinal striations (24%), distal subungual onychomycosis (24%), superficial pitting (20%) distal onycholysis (18%), splinter hemorrhage (14%), subungual hyperkeratosis (12%), dilated vessels (10%) and distal yellowish discoloration (8%). CONCLUSIONS Nail examination can be accomplished with the help of dermoscopy to detect subclinical nail changes in patients diagnosed with DM and, therefore, can give us an idea about the disease progression and help with disease control and treatment plans.