BACKGROUND: Skin diseases are frequent in tropical countries and cause a significant burden for their health systems. Tropical dermatoses are frequently of infectious nature.
DIAGNOSTICS: Dermatopathology plays an important role in the diagnosis of many tropical skin diseases. This refers specially to leishmaniasis, tropical helminthic diseases, tuberculosis, leprosy, and deep fungal infections. In addition, dermatopathology is important for the differential diagnosis of non-infectious inflammatory diseases in pigmented skin; their identification may be more challenging than when seen in Caucasian skin.
CONCLUSION: While it is usually not problematic to perform a dermatopathologic workup in travelers and expatriates returning from the tropics into Western industrialized countries, dermatopathologic services are frequently non-existent or severely limited in many tropical countries. Therefore, in improving health systems, not only should a dermatologic workforce be developed, but also training of dermatopathologists and the establishment of dermatopathology laboratories should be considered.
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