Diagnostic accuracy of colposcopic examination in patients with oral dysplastic lesions

Abstract

Objective: Colposcopy is a direct microscopic method and is the gold standard tool to detect early cervical dysplastic lesions. In the past, many attempts have been made to use gynecologic methods to examine the oral mucosa. The aim of this study was to detect the diagnostic accuracy of oral colposcopy in diagnosing oral dysplastic lesions in comparison with microscopic evaluation based on biopsy and compare Reid's Colposcopic Index (RCI) and the Swede scoring system in diagnosing oral dysplastic lesions.

Study design: Twenty-five patients who presented for diagnosis of oral leukoplakia to the Oral Medicine and Periodontology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University (Cairo, Egypt) and met the selection criteria were recruited in this study. Each patient was subjected to colposcopic examination, followed by biopsy to confirm the results of colposcopy. The sensitivity and specificity of oral colposcopy were calculated after colposcopic assessment by using the Swede scoring system and the RCI.

Results: The diagnostic accuracy of oral colposcopy with use of the Swede scoring system was superior to that of oral colposcopy with the use of the RCI.

Conclusions: Colposcopic examination using the Swede scoring system is very specific for diagnosing oral epithelial dysplasia and for using the "see-and-treat" method, whereas the RCI is a very sensitive screening method for the diagnosis of oral epithelial dysplasia in oral potentially malignant disorders.