Childhood lichen planus: a report of 23 cases.

Lichen planus (LP) in children is a rare entity. We report 23 cases of childhood LP seen over a period of 7 years. Ninety-six percent of the children were of Arab ancestry. There were 52% boys and 48% girls. Classic LP was the most common clinical variant (70%), followed by eruptive generalized LP (13%). A majority of the patients had mild, localized disease. Oral involvement was seen in 39% of patients. Topical steroids were the mainstay of treatment in most of the cases. Children with chronic and recurrent disease responded to dapsone therapy, whereas in those with eruptive and widespread disease, UVB phototherapy was found to be safe and effective. The present report highlights the salient clinical features, treatment, and course of LP in children in Kuwait compared to those reported in children of other countries as well as those of adults.