Correlación clínico-histopatológica de las biopsias de piel, Servicio de Dermatología, Complejo Hospitalario Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid, Panamá, octubre de 2006-octubre de 2008.

Background: Skin biopsy is the most important complementary technique for a dermatologist. Even though a great number of skin biopsies are performed every year in our hospital, to the best of our knowledge, there are no research studies about this matter. Objetive: To describe the histopathological diagnosis and clinical correlation of skin biopsies performed at the Dermatology Service of the \"Complejo Hospitalario Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid\" between October, 2006, and October, 2008. Materials and methods: It was a correlational, descriptive, retrospective and transversal study of all skin biopsies that met the selection criteria. Results: A total of 1,862 biopsies were performed in the study period, though only 1,706 were considered for the study. The other 156 biopsies were excluded because they did not have a clinical diagnosis; 66.5% were form female patients, and 20.6% form patients in the 50-59 age group; 99.6% of the specimens were skin samples and 36% were performed in the head. The biopsy reports had a clinical history (99%), macroscopic description (97.5%), and microscopic description (17.5%). The most frequent clinical and histopathological diagnosis was melanocytic nevi (14%). The histopathological diagnosis correlated with the clinical dermatological diagnosis in 67.5% of the cases. Conclusion: A total of 1,862 skin biopsies were performed in a two year period by the Dermatology Service of the \"Complejo Hospitalario Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid\". The histopathological and clinical dermatological diagnoses were the same in 67.5% of the 1,706 biopsies considered for the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]