Clinical-Histopathological Diagnostic Consistency of Lesions in the Oral Cavity, at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de Costa Rica, in the 2016-2019 Period

María del Carmen Navas-Aparicio

Summary

Knowledge of oral pathology and its correct diagnosis is fundamental in Dentistry, since a late diagnosis, particularly in cases of premalignant or malignant lesions, can lead to serious consequences for the patient. The objective of this study was to establish the clinicalhistopathological diagnostic consistency of lesions in the oral cavity in patients who attended the Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad de Costa Rica, and who underwent a biopsy of the lesion, during the period 2016-2019. The study was descriptive and retrospective, based on data from histopathological reports in the mentioned population, due to presenting some lesion, soft or hard tissue, in the oral cavity. The statistical sample was for convenience, non-probabilistic nor random. The statistical techniques used were descriptive for the analysis of the information, which was based on frequency distribution and crossing of variables. The statistical processing of the data was designed in a database created in Excel. The sample collects 160 histopathological reports, of which 14 were excluded. The average age of the patients was 42 years (range between 2 - 78 years old).The male:female ratio corresponded to 1:1.4, with a predominance of the female sex at 58.9 %.The congruence of the histopathological diagnosis with the clinical diagnosis corresponded to 55.8 %. Diagnostic consistency demonstrates knowledge of the professional in correctly identifying the lesion clinically, which allows acting at the precise moment and confirming the diagnostic clinical impression of the pathology via histopathological study which is the gold standard. The problem lies in those cases in which there is a diagnostic discrepancy, since it requires having knowledge of the underlying factors and therefore, requires searching for solutions, reinforcing and redirecting the academic training of professionals and students to recognize and describe these lesions.

KEY WORDS: oral diagnosis, pathology, biopsy, mouth neoplasms, mouth mucosa, knowledge.

How to cite this article

NAVAS-APARICIO, M. C. Clinical-histopathological diagnostic consistency of lesions in the oral cavity, at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Costa Rica, in the 2016-2019 period. Int. J. Odontostomat., 18(1):41-50, 2024.