Megha Sharma1 , Nitin Gupta2
BACKGROUND Skin with its appendages is a complex dynamic organ composed of cells like keratinocytes, melanocytes, Langerhans cells, Merkel cells, dendrocytes that contribute to protective functions. Imbalances in factors affecting the delicate homeostasis cells may result in conditions as diverse as blisters and rashes and even life threating cancers and disorders of immune regulation. Skin problems are most commonly encountered health problems in India. Their prevalence ranges from 6.3-11.16%. Skin biopsy followed by histopathological study is needed for accurate diagnosis because the treatment and prognosis tend to be disease specific. The aim of the present study was to classify and determine demographic distribution of the various skin disorders prevalent in this region of the country. METHODS The present study was carried out in the department of Pathology, Govt. Medical College, Jammu, a tertiary care centre. The study was a retrospective study and was done during the period of September 2016 to October 2018 i.e. 2 years. Data for retrospective study was obtained from departmental records, tissue blocks, and slides. RESULTS 350 cases were included in the study out of which 200 cases (57.2%) were males and 150 cases (42.8%) were females with male to female ratio of 1.3:1. Majority was in the age group of 31-40 years (31.4%) followed by 21-30 years age group (24.2%) of the cases. The least number of cases was in 0-10 years age group. With 34.3% of patients, most common diagnosis in our study is Hansen’s disease followed by bullous lesions constituting about 17.1% of the total cases. Third in frequency were disorders of pigmentation and melanocytes. Inflammatory lesions accounted for 12.3% of the total cases. Benign epithelial tumours and dermal tumours comprised 6.3% and 5.4% respectively. Infectious aetiology was also found in 5.7% (20 cases) of the total cases. CONCLUSIONS For confirmation of diagnosis of skin lesions and initiation of treatment, histopathological examination of the skin biopsy remains the gold standard which can be supported with the other techniques to confirm the diagnosis.
