Lichen planus in childhood: report of 100 cases

P>Background. Lichen planus (LP) is uncommon in children, and there have been few large studies on LP in this patient group. Most of the literature on childhood LP has appeared as case reports or isolated case series. Methods. We report the results of a study on 100 children with LP, which is, to our knowledge, the largest study to date on this condition. Results. The mean age of patients was 8.76 years and mean age at disease onset was 7.6 years. The onset of the disease was most commonly seen on the legs (54% of patients). The classic papular lesions were the commonest morphology seen (42% of patients). The oral mucosa was involved in 17% and nail involvement in 19% of children. Conclusion. Vaccination against hepatitis B has been suggested to be causally related to the onset of LP in various published studies. However, only 16 of our patients had been vaccinated against hepatitis B. If there is a causal relationship, more cases of LP in children may occur in the future, as vaccination against hepatitis B becomes routine in India.