Role of dermoscopy in hyperpigmented skin disorders: A tertiary care centre experience

Abstract

Dermoscopy, performed with a handheld instrument called dermatoscope, is a non-invasive and in-vivo technique for the evaluation of various skin lesions in clinical practice. Although many studies have shown the importance of dermoscopy in diagnosing skin lesions by supplementing naked-eye evaluation, Indian data on its usefulness is scarce. We aimed to describe dermoscopic findings in various pigmented conditions in skin of colour.A retrospective observational study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital in western India for the period of two years- October 2015 to September 2018. Patients were selected from the available records by using pre-specified selection criteria. Detailed demographic and clinical parameters were recorded. The dermoscopic examination was done using Dermlite DL3 polarised device. The histopathological findings, when available, were also evaluated. A total of 352 patients were identified, 181 males and 171 females. Out of the total number, 272 patients had melanocytic and 80 had non-melanocytic lesions. Benign melanocytic nevi (100 out of 272) and seborrheic keratosis (58 out of 70) were the most common observations for melanocytic and non-melanocytic lesions respectively. The study provides real-world data on a large scale for dermoscopic findings in hyperpigmented lesions in Indian patients. This study corroborates with observations from previous studies to suggest quick and non-invasive use of dermoscopy for reliable diagnosis. Larger studies in future may obviate the need for biopsy while managing these patients.