PATTERNS OF HISTOMORPHOLOGICAL VARIANTS OF SKIN DISEASES IN A RURAL TERTIARY CARE CENTRE

Background: Skin biopsy is a common procedure in Dermatology practice. The usual intent of skin biopsy is to further characterize the nature of a skin growth or eruption and assist in diagnosis by allowing histopathological evaluation of a tissue sample. Although histopathology remains the gold standard for most dermatologic diagnoses, it must be recognized that not all lesions are amenable to definitive specific histological diagnosis1. Material & Methods: The present study is undertaken in the department of Pathology, Index Medical College Hospital and Research Center, Indore (M.P). This was a cross sectional observational study which included skin biopsy specimen from 122 cases reported for histopathological evaluation attending Skin & VD OPD of the institute from June 2018 to Feb 2020. On the basis of histopathological features these skin disorders were classified in different groups as per Lever’s classification2. Results: out of 116 cases included in the study, maximum cases belonged to group III (n=43) followed by group V (n=38), group IV (n=11), group I (n=7), group II (n=7), group VI (n=7) and group VII (n=3). Overall most common disease observed was Psoriasis followed by Leprosy. Highest number of cases were found in age group 41-50 years (n=25) and clinicopathological correlation was seen in 79.09% cases. Conclusion: The skin biopsy and subsequent histopathological examination has been proved as gold standard for identifying a specific dermatoses and appropriate management, being most cost effective tool. Keywords: Skin, Histopathology, Psoriasis, Leprosy