Dermatoscopia para principiantes (i): características generales

espanolLa incidencia de cancer de piel esta aumentando paulatinamente en el mundo desde la decada de 1960. Actualmente representa un problema sanitario y economico para los diferentes sistemas de salud. La dermatoscopia es una tecnica diagnostica in vivo, no invasiva, desarrollada para estudiar las lesiones cutaneas. Mejora la precision diagnostica de las lesiones hiperpigmentadas y el diagnostico precoz de las lesiones potencialmente malignas, especialmente el melanoma. No incrementa significativamente el tiempo dedicado a la exploracion fisica. Actualmente se estan descubriendo nuevas aplicaciones para esta tecnica. Requiere un proceso de aprendizaje. Debido a la complejidad del tema, hemos dividido el texto en 2 partes, para intentar simplificar su exposicion. Esta primera parte se centrara en los aspectos mas tecnicos y en las caracteristicas del dispositivo denominado dermatoscopio. En la segunda parte se expondran 2 metodos diagnosticos de sencilla interpretacion y gran utilidad en Atencion Primaria. EnglishThe incidence of skin cancer has been gradually increasing worldwide since the 1960s. It is currently a health and economic problem for the different health systems. Dermoscopy is a non-invasive in vivo diagnostic technique, developed to study skin lesions. It improves the diagnostic accuracy of hyperpigmented lesions, as well as an early diagnosis of potentially malignant lesions, especially melanoma. The time spent on physical examination is not significantly increased. New applications have currently been discovered for this technique. Dermoscopy requires a learning process. Due to the complexity of the topic, the text has been divided into 2 parts to try to simplify its presentation. This first part will focus on the more technical aspects and the characteristics of the device called dermoscope. In the second part, 2 diagnostical methods will be presented along with their easy interpretation and usefulness in Primary Care.