Histopathological study of granulomatous lesions of skin in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Introduction: Granulomatous lesions are a complex and heterogeneous group of skin disorders characterized by the formation of granulomas. Granulomas are relatively discrete collections of histiocytes or epithelioid histiocytes with variable numbers of admixed multinucleated giant cells and inflammatory cells. Aims and Objectives • To study prevalence of granulomatous lesions of skin in different sex and age groups. • To study histopathological features of granulomatous lesions of skin. Materials and Methods: This study consists of 50 skin biopsies diagnosed as leprosy on histopathological examination over a period of ten months from January 2023 to October 2023 at a tertiary care teaching hospital. Cases diagnosed as granulomatous lesions of skin on histopathological examination from the skin biopsies sent from the Department of Dermatology were included. Results Present study shows marked male predominance (60%) in cases diagnosed as granulomatous lesions of skin as compared to females (40%). Maximum number of cases occurred in the age group of 31-40 years. Out of a total of 50 cases, Leprosy (58%) constituted majority of the cases of granulomatous skin lesions, followed by granuloma annularae (10%) and sarcoidosis (10%). Discussion: The granulomatous lesions of skin are a common and intriguing problem in developing countries and a diagnostic challenge to Dermatopathologists, since an identical histological pattern may be produced by several causes, and a single cause may produce several histological patterns. Conclusion: Histopathological examination of skin biopsy is the gold standard for accurate diagnosis and typing of granulomatous skin lesions as it is minimally invasive and easy to perform. Combined with Fite-Faraco staining, it is very important in cases where insufficient clinical history is available and in pediatric cases which would ultimately help in the prognosis and line of treatment of the patient.