Correlation between clinical diagnosis and histopathological diagnosis of oral soft tissue lesions in Isfahan Dental School from 1988 to 2011

As many oral soft tissue lesions have similar clinical features, in most cases the final diagnosis is based on histologic examination of the lesion. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between clinical and histopathological diagnosis of oral soft tissue lesions in patients referred to Isfahan Dental School from 1988 to 2011.

In this retrospective descriptive-analytical study, 3877 patient files with soft tissue lesions were evaluated. Correlation between clinical and histopathological diagnosis was assessed based on age, gender, clinical data, first and second differential diagnosis, location, color, consistency, biologic course, surface characteristics and the appearance of the lesion and academic rank of the clinician. Data were analyzed with chi-squared test using SPSS 18 (α=0.05).

The correlation of histopathological diagnosis and the first clinical diagnosis was 61.2%, with 10.6% for the second clinical diagnosis. The most correct clinical diagnoses were related to autoimmune lesions (84.1%), with lichen planus (90.6%) and mucocutaneous pemphigoid (61.5%) exhibiting the most accurate diagnoses in this group. The correlation between age and diagnosis was significant (p value = 0.019), with no significant correlation with gender (p value = 0.904).

The histopathological diagnosis with more consistent with the first clinical diagnosis compared to the second clinical diagnosis.