Direct immunofluorescence of skin biopsy: Perspective of an immunopathologist
Background: By direct immunofluorescence (DIF), presence of immune complexes in the skin biopsy at various locations such as the dermo-epidermal junction, dermal blood vessels, etc. help to arrive at a diagnosis. Aims: (1) To study the role of DIF in confirmation or exclusion of diseases involving s...
Saved in:
Published in | Indian journal of dermatology, venereology, and leprology Vol. 76; no. 2; pp. 150 - 157 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
India
Medknow Publications on behalf of The Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL)
01.03.2010
Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd Scientific Scholar |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Background: By direct immunofluorescence (DIF), presence of immune
complexes in the skin biopsy at various locations such as the
dermo-epidermal junction, dermal blood vessels, etc. help to arrive at
a diagnosis. Aims: (1) To study the role of DIF in confirmation or
exclusion of diseases involving skin vis-à-vis histopathology and
clinical diagnosis, (2) to describe the annual spectrum of dermatologic
conditions that present to a tertiary referral center and require DIF
examination of skin biopsy for confirmation of diagnosis. Methods: A
total of 267 biopsies received over a period of 16 months in the
Department of Immunopathology were analyzed along with clinical and
histopathological details and the correlation between them was studied.
Results: DIF was positive in 204 skin biopsies. Of these, 127 biopsies
showed good clinico-immuno-histopathological correlation. In 10 cases,
only DIF could clinch the diagnosis. In another nine cases, immune
deposits were noted, which were unexpected in light of clinical and
histopathological diagnosis. The most common skin involvement was seen
in vasculitides. DIF was, however, non-contributory in lesions like
erythema multiformè, post Kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis,
sarcoidosis, lupus vulgaris, pyoderma gangrenosum and prurigo
nodularis. Conclusion: The DIF of skin in conjunction with
histopathology gives the best diagnostic yield. It is invaluable in
confirming the diagnosis of small vessel vasculitides and bullous
lesions of skin and can be used as an additional tool to pinpoint the
diagnosis of systemic and localized autoimmune diseases involving the
skin. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0378-6323 0973-3922 1998-3611 |
DOI: | 10.4103/0378-6323.60561 |