How informative are dermatopathology requisition forms completed by residents of dermatology?

Background: Accurate clinical information provided on dermatopathology requisition forms is often very important to achieve correct diagnosis. We searched to evaluate the clinical information actually provided on the Dermatopathology requisition forms of melanocytic lesions submitted to our laboratory. Method: The provided clinical information and given microscopic diagnoses were recorded for melanocytic lesions submitted as wet tissue to our dermatopathology department. Result: Biopsy specimens were received from our dermatology clinics at our hospital that were filled in by residents of dermatology. According to ABCDE criteria, 76% of cases had none, 11.5% had one criterion, 19% had two criteria, 5.6% had 3 criteria, 1.1% had 4 criteria, and none had all 5 criteria. Asymmetry was provided in none of the requests, but border irregularity was provided in 7.6% of the time, color 10.1%, diameter 5.9%, and evolution 21.8%. No requisition forms mentioned the ‘‘ugly duckling’’ sign. Conclusion: Actually, most of the requisition forms did not provide the clinical information that is very important for the clinicopathologic correlation in the diagnosis of the pigmented lesions.