Audit of Oral Histopathology Service at a Nigerian Tertiary Institution over a 24-Year Period

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Biopsies are often essential for definitivediagnosis of oro-facial lesions and are a part of oral diagnosticprocedures carried out in histopathology laboratories. At present,there is paucity of literature on the audit of oral histopathologyservices in Nigeria. The objectives of this study were to determinethe prevalence of biopsied oral lesions in a Nigerian tertiaryinstitution. Also to profile the usage of oral pathology service andto identify challenges that may be present in an oral histodiagnosticservice.METHODS: This was a retrospective study performed at the OralPathology Department of the University of Ibadan/UniversityCollege Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Reports of all biopsies submittedat the Oral Pathology laboratory, for the period 1990-2014, werereviewed and data extracted. Descriptive analysis was done usingSPSS software, version 20.RESULTS: The total number of reports was 1,998; invalid reportsconstituting 220(11%) were subsequently excluded leaving1,778(89%) valid reports. The mean age of patients was 36.70±19.79, while the peak age of presentation was in the 3 rd decade.Male to female ratio was 1:1.1, and the mandible was the mostcommon site of lesions 619(34.8%). These services were mainlyutilized by oral surgeons (83.9%) and ameloblastoma (11.5%) wasthe most frequently diagnosed lesion. CD45 (16.7%) was the mostfrequently requested immuno-diagnostic test.CONCLUSION: Biopsied oral lesions were more prevalent infemales, while oral and maxillofacial surgeons utilized theseservices the most. Inadequate biopsy specimens or unrepresentativespecimens and deficient documentation were challenges identifiedin this study.