Background: Scaling of scalp is a common feature of many skin diseas­es and can be observed in different ages. Despite the diversity of causes of scaly scalp in preschool age group, there are few studies to document the etiologies of scalp scaling in pre­school children.
Objective : To categorize the cas­es of scaly scalp in preschool children in our locality on clinical and microbio­logical bases.
Methods : Fifty child of preschool age, having scaly scalp from Derma­tology outpatient clinic of Mansoura university hospital, were subjected to thorough history taking and clinical dermatologic examination for the le-
sions of the scalp and any other asso­ciated dermatologica! lesions any­where in the body. Scales and hairs from the scaly scalp lesions were ob­tained and subjected to direct micro­scopic examination using KOH and culture on Sabouraud's dextrose agar with chloramphenicol, with and with­out cyclohexamide. The growth was identified by macroscopic & micro­scopic characters.
Results : Ages of the studied pa­tients were from 3 months up to 5.5 years. Thirty six percent of them were infants while 64% were in the 2-6 years age group. The most common cause of scaly scalp found was T. ca-pitis (62%), then seborrhoeic dermati­tis (24%), psoriasis (10%) and lastly atopic dermatitis and PRP (2% each).