Diagnostic accuracy of benign eyelid skin lesions in the minor operation theatre

Abstract

PURPOSE To determine the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of benign eyelid skin lesions in a minor operation theatre (MOT) setting. METHODS This study was carried out prospectively over a 6-month period. Subjects attending the minor operation theatre set-up with eyelid skin lesions were assessed and lesions were labelled as benign, pre-malignant or malignant. All patients underwent excision biopsy of the lesion. Histopathologic diagnosis was obtained for each lesion, which was then matched with the respective clinical diagnosis. The Diagnostic Accuracy (DA) was calculated for benign lesions using the formula proposed by Lightstone et al. RESULTS Two hundred eyelid skin lesions from 183 consecutive patients were included in the study. Clinically, 187 lesions were labelled as benign, 12 as malignant and 1 as pre-malignant. The histopathologic report matched with the clinical diagnosis in 192 cases (96%). However, incorrect diagnoses included 3 malignant and 3 premalignant lesions that were labelled as benign clinically. The DA for benign lesion was 95.7%. CONCLUSION Histopathologic confirmation may be necessary for most cases in the MOT.