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Can reflectance confocal microscopy in children help to avoid unnecessary biopsies and improve diagnostic accuracy? In this latest general dermatology video, Dr Vincenzo Piccolo looks at the applications and limitations of reflectance confocal microscopy in paediatric cases.

For further information on this topic, you may be interested in the HealthCert Professional Diploma in General Dermatology: medical courses online, tailored for general practitioner training.

Reflectance confocal microscopy is a non-invasive diagnostic tool that has been widely used in dermatology, consisting of an infrared diode laser that reaches a skin depth of 200-250 µm, which allows the visualisation of the papillary dermis and superior reticular dermis, involving direct contact of the lens with the skin and creating an instant thin optical section at the point of interest.

In the video, Dr Piccolo explores the latest study he recently published with colleagues on the applications and limitations of reflectance confocal microscopy on 215 children aged under 19 years. He presents the results along with some of the real patient cases included in the study.

The study found that reflectance confocal microscopy can be a useful instrument when evaluating paediatric patients and may help avoid unnecessary biopsy in most cases, representing an additional tool to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Most of the exams were performed for lesions clinically compatible with Spitz naevi, congenital naevi and atypical melanocytic lesions, among which two melanomas were detected. The rate of excision after reflectance confocal microscopy was 14.9 per cent.

See all this and much more in the full video below.

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For further information on this topic, you may be interested in the HealthCert Professional Diploma in General Dermatology: medical courses online, tailored for general practitioner training.

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