Spectrum of pediatric skin biopsies

Background: Skin diseases are common in childhood and they are common reasons for pediatric visits to the hospital. In spite of this high occurrence, there are very few prospective studies addressing this issue. Aims: The present study was directed at determining the spectrum of dermato-pathological lesions encountered in a large general tertiary care hospital, over a two-year period. Materials and Methods: 107 cases formed the total sample studied, in a part prospective and part retrospective study. A detailed clinical history was recorded on a proforma prepared for the purpose and gross photographs were taken wherever possible. Results: Skin biopsies accounted for 7.29% of the total surgical pathology load, 55.44% of the total pediatric biopsies and 10.82% of the total number of skin biopsies. The age and sex distribution pattern revealed that the maximum number of biopsies (62.61%) were of older children, with a male preponderance (57.94%). The anatomic distribution pattern indicated predominant involvement of the limbs (59.82%). The maximum numbers of cases were of infectious nature (24.29%); the most frequently encountered being borderline tuberculoid Hansen′s disease (8.4%). A positive correlation with the clinical diagnosis was obtained in 56.07% cases. Conclusions: Histopathology contributed to the diagnosis in a significant number of (82.23%) cases, indicating its importance and utility.