Author's reply

S Pradeep Nair

 Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical College Hospital, Trivandrum - 695011, Kerala, India

Correspondence Address:
S Pradeep Nair
Kamala Sadan, Thampuran Mukku, Kunnukuzhi, Trivandrum - 695037, Kerala
India

Sir,

We thank Dr. Joshi for the thorough perusal of our article. You have mentioned that basal cell degeneration may not always be present in pityriasis lichenoides chronica /PLEVA and may not be necessarily included in the histopathological diagnosis of PLC/PLEVA as it can occur in many inflammatory dermatoses also. We have very clearly mentioned in the ′Materials and methods′ that the basis for the diagnosis of PLC/PLEVA is both clinical and histopathological features, of which basal cell degeneration is a very important feature. By the same logic all cases with basal cell degeneration and interface dermatitis are not lichen planus! We have done a thorough review of the literature before the study and all major studies of PLC/PLEVA have included basal cell degeneration as an important histological feature (See references numbered 2,4 and 5 cited in the article). Moreover a very recent study with a larger sample size than the present study have also included basal cell degeneration as an important histological diagnostic criterion. ^[1] Most dermatopathologists are very reluctant to give a diagnosis of PLC/PLEVA in the absence of basal cell degeneration. As to the second part of your query, we have eliminated five cases in the study due to lack of basal cell degeneration. However, we do agree that stratum corneum findings may contribute to the histological diagnosis of PLC/PLEVA.

1.	Sibel Ersoy-Evans M, Greco F, Mancini AJ, Subasi N, Paller AS. Pityriasis lichenoides in childhood: A retrospective review of 124 patients. J Am Acad Dermatol 2007;56:205-10. [Google Scholar]