Lichen Striatus

Abstract

The incidence of lichen striatus is so rare that when such a condition occurs we are more prone to discard it for one of the other commoner linear dermatoses, such as lichen planus, nevus unius lateris, linear psoriasis, and even herpes zoster. It is easily understandable that such confusion may occur when one realizes that, in spite of the statements by different authors,^1,2a clear-cut clinical picture does not exist; that the therapeutic response is, as we shall see later, of no help at all, and that the histopathologic changes occurring in lichen striatus are still a confusing and undecided factor. The diagnosis of lichen planus and psoriasis does not present any difficulty in cases where a widespread eruption is present, but we may also be confronted with a combination of lichen striatus and lichen planus, as the case described by H. Pinkus³has clearly