The histopathological spectrum of skin diseases with emphasis on clinicopathological correlation: A prospective study

The spectrum of skin disease varies greatly according to the age, gender and other factors. Skin biopsies are needed in challenging clinical cases. This study was done with aim of analyzing the spectrum of skin diseases in and around Meerut and to study the correlation between clinical and final histopathological diagnosis. This is a prospective study in which 282 skin biopsies received in Histopathology Department of LLRM Medical College Meerut, during December 2016 to December 2017. Among them 29 biopsies were inadequate and hence were not included. Remaining 253 biopsies were analyzed. The slides were stained with H & E stain. Definite histopathological diagnosis was possible in 240 cases (94.9%). A broad spectrum of diseases were seen comprising of infectious disorders (34.6%), eczematous disorders (10.8%), papulosquamous disorders (18.3%), vesicobullous lesions (2.9%), inflammatory disorders (5.8%), pigment disorders (3.8%), degenerative diseases (1.7%), benign tumors (17.5%) and malignant tumors (4.6%). The diversity of clinical manifestations of various skin diseases makes histopathological examination necessary for appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Histopathology also plays an important role in confirming an established clinical diagnosis. In this study, histopathology confirmed clinical diagnosis in 217 cases (85.8%), gave diagnosis different from clinical diagnosis in 23 cases (9.1%) and was noncontributory in only 13 cases (5.1%). This emphasizes that histopathological examination of skin lesions is an important tool for confirming skin diagnosis.