In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy of erythematosquamous skin diseases

Abstract

Reflectance confocal microscopy examination appears to be a promising method for non-invasive assessment of erythematosquamous skin diseases. This study provides a set of well-described morphological criteria with obvious diagnostic impact, which should be used in further investigations.

Review paper The use of reflectance confocal microscopy in selected inflammatory skin diseases

“…Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) lesions in optical sections showed a correlation with the histopathological image [25,26]. Total architectural disarray of the stratum spinosum was observed with clear spongiosis as well as perivascular and perifollicular inflammatory infiltrates.…”

Consistency and distribution of reflectance confocal microscopy features for diagnosis of cutaneous T cell lymphoma

“…Hence the term "bright roundish and large pleomorphic cells" may be used for description of what most likely corresponds to atypical lymphocytes in routine histology and that is consistent with the suggestion of a previous publication on the RCM evaluation of erythrosquamous skin diseases including MF. 18 Those features previously described as loss of demarcation/ presence of epidermal disarray are more difficult to discern from mere spongiosis, since they do not actually have a histological correlate. Interestingly, in cases of contact dermatitis, the cell-tocell demarcation is rather accentuated by the presence of intercellular edema, which increases refractility on RCM images.…”

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy as a Tool for the Investigation of Skin Drug Delivery Systems and Diagnosis of Skin Disorders

“…In dermatology, CRM has several uses, such as: i) to diagnose diseases non-invasively in vivo [69][70][71][72]; ii) to non-invasive monitoring of treatment response in vivo and permits early detection of subclinical disease [73]; iii) to improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis [74]; iv) to improve clinical discrimination between benign and malignant lesions [75]; v) to evaluate the same skin site over time because it produces no tissue damage [76]; vi) to assess the boundaries of the lesion pre-or post-surgery [54]; vii) to evaluate the dynamics of structural and cellular changes that take place during the occurrence of the disease [77]; and viii) to study physiopathologic processes non-invasively over time [78][79].…”