Morphological study of different granulomatous lesions of the skin

Objective Morphological study of different granulomatous lesions of the skin todetermine the relative frequencies and to compare our results with those of otherworkers. Materials and methods A total of 2682 skin biopsies received over a period of 5 yearsfrom January, 2001 to December, 2005 at the department of Pathology, Basic MedicalSciences Institute, JPMC, Karachi, were reviewed. Results Out of a total of 2682 skin biopsies 123 cases were found to have agranulomatous reaction pattern. Out of them, tuberculoid granulomas were seen in 114cases, foreign body type in 4 and suppurative and sarcoidal each in 2 cases. One casewas of necrobiotic granuloma. Cutaneous tuberculosis was the most common lesion(97/123). 47 cases were typified. Out of them 18 were lupus vulgaris, 9 tuberculosisverrucosa cutis, 7 each of tuberculosis cutis orificialis and scrofuloderma and 6 weretuberculous gummas. AFB were seen in 20 out of 79 (25.31%) caseating, and 1 out of 35(2.85%) non-caseating tuberculoid granulomas. Conclusion Granulomatous lesions of skin are more common in females. The mostcommon type of granulomas is tuberculoid. The most common lesion in our study wastuberculosis (The incidence is 3.69% of all dermatology patients). The most commonsubtype of tuberculosis was lupus vulgaris (38.29%) followed by tuberculosis verrucosacutis and scrofuloderma. AFB is more commonly seen in caseating granulomas.