Profile of Skin Biopsy Patients Undergoing Histopathological Examination at Universitas Sebelas Maret Hospital, Surakarta, Indonesia, in 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26911/theijmed.2026.11.3.947Abstract
Background: The clinical presentation of various skin diseases often overlaps, necessitating ancillary examinations to establish an accurate diagnosis. Skin biopsy followed by histopathological evaluation remains the standard method to confirm a wide range of dermatological disorders. This study aims to describe the demographic, clinical, and histopathological profiles of skin biopsy patients as well as to evaluate clinicopathological concordance.
Subjects and Method: This retrospective descriptive study utilized secondary data from medical records of patients who underwent skin biopsy and histopathological examination between January and December 2024 at Universitas Sebelas Maret Hospital. Patients with complete medical records and available histopathological results were included, while those with incomplete data were excluded. Variables analyzed included demographic characteristics (age and sex), lesion site, clinical indications for biopsy, and histopathological diagnosis.
Results: A total of 29 patients underwent skin biopsy during the study period. The majority were male (51.72%) and within the 46–65-year age group (48.28%). The most common biopsy site was the upper extremities (41.38%). Histopathological findings showed that erythematosquamous and infectious disorders were the most frequent diagnoses (20.7% each). The least common diagnosis was vesiculobullous disease, with only one case (3.45%). The concordance rate between clinical and histopathological diagnoses was 93.1%.
Conclusion: Most skin biopsy patients were males aged 46–65 years, with lesions commonly located on the upper extremities. Erythematosquamous and infectious dermatoses were the predominant diagnostic categories. The high clinicopathological concordance (93.1%) emphasizes the reliability of histopathology in confirming dermatologic diagnoses.
Keywords:
Skin biopsy, histopathology, skin infectionReferences
Abdulmajid L, Bosisio FM, Brems H, De Vlieger G, Garmyn M, Segers H, et al. (2021). An update on congenital melanocytic nevus syndrome: A case report and literature review. J Cutan Pathol. 48(12): 1497–1503. doi: 10.1111/cup.14097
Adelman M, Weber I (2024). Reflecting on decades of data: The global burden of disease – Cochrane project. JMIR Dermatol. 7: e41323. doi: 10.219-6/41323
Alnami A, Shokor N, Alajlan A, AlJasser MI (2021). Clinical and dermoscopic features of orf transmitted from camels. Int J Dermatol. 60(7): e276–e277. doi: 10.1111/ijd.15479
Alwahaibi N, Alwahaibi M (2025). Mini review on skin biopsy: Traditional and modern techniques. Front Med. 12: 685–694. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1476685
Apalla Z, Nashan D, Weller RB, Castellsagué X (2017). Skin cancer: Epidemiology, disease burden, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapeutic approaches. Dermatol Ther. 7(S1): 5–19.doi: 10.1007/s13-555-016-0165-y
Asnar RAAPW, Sandhika W, Listiawan MY (2022). Profile of skin biopsy patients in Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia. Folia Med. 58(1): 1–9. doi: 10.20473/-fmi.v58i1.16811
Bagchee-Clark A, Abu Yousef Y, Hanna M, Weera S, Bengezi O (2025). The accuracy of 2.5 mm punch biopsy in the diagnosis of skin lesions. Eur J Med Health Sci. 7(4): 1–4. doi:10.24018/ejmed.2025.7.4.2303
Cucka B, Biglione B, Zhou L, Phillips EJ, Bassir F, Samarakoon U, et al. (2022). Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms in patients hospitalized with COVID-19: A case series from a large US healthcare system. Br J Dermatol. 187(4): 619–622. Doi:10.1111/bjd.21723
Dawande P, Wankhade R, Sajjanar AB, Bankar NJ (2023). A histo-pathological study of the spectrum of skin lesions in a tertiary care hospital: A retrospective study. Cureus. 15(10): e47164. Doi: 10.7759/cureus.47164
Elston DM, Stratman EJ, Miller SJ (2016). Skin biopsy. J Am Acad Dermatol. 74(1): 1–16. Doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.-2015.09.024
Gerdes S, Asadullah K, Hoffmann M, Korge B, Mortazawi D, Wegner S, et al. (2022). Real-world evidence from the German multicentre PERSIST study of psoriasis patients after 1 year of guselkumab treatment. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 36(9): 1568–1577. Doi: 10.1111/jdv.18269
Goswami P, Parekh M, Goswami A (2022). Histopathology spectrum of skin lesions in teaching institution. J Family Med Prim Care. 11(8): 4610–4613. Doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_25-25_21
Hardianto A, Qodir N, Roflin E, Indra B (2025). Incidence and characteristics of skin cancer patients at Dr. Mohammad Hoesin General Hospital, Palembang. Indones J Cancer. 19(1): 90–95. Doi: 10.33371/ijoc.v19i1.1280
Heymann WR (2021). Reply to “Shall we exclude parapsoriasis from the medical vocabulary?”. J Cutan Pathol. 48(11): 1435–1442. Doi:10.1111/cup.14083
Kani V, K K, Sonti S (2024). Assessment of pre-analytical errors and fostering strategies to enhance accurate results and efficient turnaround times in the cytology laboratory of a tertiary care hospital. Cureus. 16(3): e56592. Doi:10.7759/cureus.56592
Karakioulaki M, Eyerich K, Patsatsi A (2024). Advancements in bullous pemphigoid treatment: A compre-hensive pipeline update. Am J Clin Dermatol. 25(2): 195–212.Doi: 10.10-07/s40257-023-00828-4
Klein A, Fell T, Birkenmaier C, Fromm J, Jansson V, Knösel T, et al. (2021). Relative sensitivity of core-needle biopsy and incisional biopsy in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal sarco-mas. Cancers (Basel). 13(6): 1393. Doi: 10.3390/cancers13061393
Leiter U, Keim U, Garbe C (2020). Epidemiology of skin cancer: Update 2019. Adv Exp Med Biol. 912: 123–139. Doi:10.1007/978-3-030-46227-7_7
Maronese CA, Pimentel MA, Li MM, Genovese G, Ortega-Loayza AG, Marzano AV (2022). Pyoderma gangrenosum: An updated literature review on established and emerging pharmacological treatments. Am J Clin Dermatol. 23(5): 615–634. Doi: 10.1007/s40257-022-00694-3
Maverakis E, Marzano AV, Le ST, Callen JP, Bruggen MC, Guenova E, et al. (2020). Pyoderma gangrenosum. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 6(1): 81–89. Doi: 10.1038/s41572-020-0213-x
Ozcan Y, Ozlu E, Karagun E, Uyar B, Gamsizkan M (2022). Dermato-pathological correlation of clinically challenging cutaneous lesions: A single center experience of 2184 cases. Front Med. 12(4): e2022186. Doi: 10.5826/dpc.1204a186
Que SKT, Zwald FO, Schmults CD (2018). Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. J Am Acad Dermatol. 78(2): 237–247. Doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2017.08.059
Ramsey ML, Rostami S (2025). Skin biopsy. Treasure Island (FL): Stat-Pearls Publishing.
Ren X, Xia W, Xu P, Shen H, Dai X, Liu M, et al. (2020). Lgr4 deletion delays the hair cycle and inhibits the activation of hair follicle stem cells. J Invest Dermatol. 140(9): 1706–1712. Doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2020.02.020
Rinaldi I, Sungkar A, Alifianto U (2017). Epithelial rate difference on donor wound of split thickness skin graft in the thigh area by applying Leukocrepe and Medicrepe. Indones J Med. 2(3): 146–153. Doi:10.26911/theijmed.2017.2.3.59
Ronchi A, Zito Marino F, Vitiello P, Caccavale S, Argenziano G, Crisci S, et al. (2021). A case of primary cutan-eous B-cell lymphoma with immature features in an old man. J Cutan Pathol. 48(4): 535–540. Doi: 10.11-11/cup.13892
Sendin-Martin M, Bueno-Molina RC, Hernandez-Rodriguez JC, Cayuela L, Cayuela A, Pereyra-Rodriguez JJ (2025). Incidence and mortality of nonmelanoma skin cancer in Europe: Current trends and challenges. Clin Transl Oncol. Doi: 10.1007/s12094-025-03985-z
Sharma P, Aggarwal P, Punia RS, Bhagat R, Handa U, Sandhu JK (2023). Clinico-pathological spectrum of primary skin malignancies in an Indian tertiary care hospital. Indian J Dermatol. 68(6): 723–728. Doi:10.4103/ijd.ijd_1002_22
Shi C, Shan Q, Xia J, Wang L, Wang L, Qiu L, et al. (2022). Incidence, risk factors and mortality of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with influenza: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Mycoses. 65(2): 152–163.Doi: 10.1111/myc.13382
Skayem C, Taieb C, Halioua B, Baissac C, Saint Aroman M (2025). Epid-emiology of psoriasis: A worldwide global study. Acta Derm Venereol. 105: 42945. Doi: 10.2340/actadv.-v105.42945
Sopijani S, Akay B, Daka A (2022). A review study toward clinical and histopathological diagnosis agreement in skin diseases. Med Arch. 76(6): 438–442. Doi: 10.5455/medarh.2022.76.438-442
Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A (2021). Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 71(3): 209–249. Doi:10.3322/-caac.21660
Talwar A, Ballambat S, Rao R, Shetty V (2023). Clinico-pathological correla-tion in dermatological disorders: A retrospective audit of 332 skin biopsies from a tertiary care center. Indian Dermatol Online J. 14(1): 61–66. Doi: 10.4103/idoj.idoj_675_22
Venugopal R, Shankar P, Pathania V (2020). Clinicopathological correla-tion in the diagnosis of skin diseases: A retrospective study. Med J Dr DY Patil Vidyapeeth. 13(6): 648–652. Doi: 10.4103/mjdrdypu.mjdrdypu_-5_20
Watson TPG, Tong M, Bailie J, Ekanayake K, Bailie RS (2024). Relationship between climate change and skin cancer and implications for prevent-ion and management: A scoping review. Public Health. 227: 243–249. Doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2023.12.018
Wahyu L, Nanda EF, Sitti H, Mimi M (2023). Profile of skin tumors at Dr. Zainoel Abidin General Hospital dermatology and venereology outpatient clinic in 2017–2021: A retrospective study. Berkala Ilmu Kesehat Kulit Kelamin. 35(1): 40–45. Doi:10.20473/bikk.V35.1.2023.40-45
Westphalen CB, Bokemeyer C, Büttner R, Fröhling S, Gaidzik VI, Glimm H, et al. (2022). Corrigendum to: Conceptual framework for precision cancer medicine in Germany: Consensus statement of the Deutsche Krebshilfe working group “Molecular diagnostics and therapy”. Eur J Cancer. 162: 245–246. Doi: 10.1016/-j.ejca.2021.12.022
Xue Y, Zhou J, Xu BN, Li Y, Bao W, Cheng XL, et al. (2022). Global burden of bacterial skin diseases: A systematic analysis combined with sociodemo-graphic index, 1990–2019. Front Med (Lausanne). 9: 861115. Doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.861115.
