A Study Correlating the Dermoscopic Diagnosis with Histopathology in Inflammatory Papulosquamous Dermatoses

A BSTRACT Background: The dermoscope is a noninvasive diagnostic tool, which of late has been found useful in corroborating a clinical diagnosis, thus averting the need for a skin biopsy. Aim: To study the dermoscopic patterns of inflammatory papulosquamous dermatoses and correlate them with the histopathological diagnosis. Methods: All patients diagnosed clinically with inflammatory papulosquamous dermatoses were recruited in this cross-sectional study after obtaining informed consent and with due consideration of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A brief history taking and examination was done, followed by a dermoscopic examination of the lesion. Skin biopsy was taken from the same site as that of dermoscopy. Findings obtained from both modalities were tabulated and assessed to establish a diagnosis. The dermoscopic and histopathological diagnosis were compared to elucidate the specificity and sensitivity of the dermoscopic findings. Results: This study showed that among a total of 100 cases, 94.1% of cases of psoriasis, 86.7% of cases of eczema, 69% cases of LP, 60% of cases of DLE, and 82.3% of other cases showed a positive correlation between dermoscopy and histopathology, with an overall correlation of 82%. A ” P ” value of 0.03 was obtained, indicating a significant correlation between the two modalities. Conclusion: Dermoscopy, a diagnostic tool, can provide vital clues in the diagnosis of various dermatoses as it highlights subtle surface features, which in turn can give valuable information about the underlying pathological process to the treating physician. This study shows that dermoscopy is valuable for differentiating various inflammatory papulosquamous dermatoses and can reduce the frequency of unnecessary biopsies.