Comparison of the efficiency of digital pathology with the conventional methodology for the diagnosis of biopsies in an anatomical pathology laboratory in Spain

Q2 Medicine

Journal of Pathology Informatics Pub Date : 2025-04-01 DOI:10.1016/j.jpi.2025.100439

J.I. Echeveste , L. Alvarez-Gigli , D. Carcedo , Y. Soto-Serrano , M.D. Lozano

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background/objective

Digital pathology (DP) encompasses the digitization of processes related to the acquisition, storage, transmission, and analysis of pathological data, contrasting with conventional methodology (CM) using optical microscopes. This study evaluates the efficiency of DP versus CM in a Spanish pathology department.

Methods

Observational, retrospective, and non-interventional study comparing biopsy samples from 2021 (cases diagnosed using CM) and 2022 (using DP). Variables analyzed were the pathologist who made the diagnosis, the number of slides, and the case area. Outcome efficiency variables were the turnaround-time (TaT), pending cases (active cases each pathologist accumulates daily), and pathologist workload. A significance level of 5% was established, and an exploratory cost-analysis was also performed.

Results

11,922 cases were analyzed: 5,836 and 6,086 diagnosed with CM and DP methodologies, respectively. Mean TaT for CM-diagnosed cases was 10.58 (standard deviation [SD] 7.10) days, compared to 6.86 (SD 5.10) days for DP-diagnosed cases, reflecting a reduction of 3.72 days (P < 0.001). With DP, the average reduction in pending cases over a year was around 25 cases, with peaks of 100 fewer pending cases during high workload months. Additionally, DP decreased the pathologist workload by 29.2% on average, with reductions exceeding 50% during peak months.

Conclusion

Our study is the first in Spain to compare the efficiency and costs of DP and CM. DP demonstrated significant efficiency improvements over CM, reducing TaT and pathologist workload. Despite higher initial costs, DP's operational benefits indicate its potential as a transformative diagnostic tool. Further studies are needed to evaluate its long-term cost-effectiveness.

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数字病理学的效率与传统的方法诊断活检在解剖病理学实验室在西班牙的比较

背景/目的与使用光学显微镜的传统方法（CM）相比，数字病理学（DP）包括与病理数据的采集、存储、传输和分析相关的过程的数字化。本研究评估了西班牙病理学部门DP与CM的效率。方法通过观察性、回顾性和非介入性研究，比较2021年（CM诊断病例）和2022年（DP诊断病例）的活检样本。分析的变量包括做出诊断的病理学家、载玻片数量和病例面积。结果效率变量包括周转时间（TaT）、待处理病例（每位病理学家每天积累的活跃病例）和病理学家工作量。建立了5%的显著性水平，并进行了探索性成本分析。结果共分析11922例病例，其中CM诊断5836例，DP诊断6086例。cm诊断病例的平均寿命为10.58（标准差[SD] 7.10）天，而dp诊断病例的平均寿命为6.86（标准差5.10）天，减少了3.72 天（P <； 0.001）。使用方案后，一年内的待处理案件平均减少约25宗，在工作量高的月份，待处理案件最多减少100宗。此外，DP使病理学家的工作量平均减少29.2%，在高峰月份减少超过50%。结论本研究是西班牙第一个比较DP和CM的效率和成本的研究。与CM相比，DP显示出显著的效率提高，减少了TaT和病理学家的工作量。尽管初始成本较高，但DP的运营效益表明其作为变革性诊断工具的潜力。需要进一步的研究来评价其长期成本效益。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Pathology Informatics Medicine-Pathology and Forensic Medicine

CiteScore

3.70

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

18 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Pathology Informatics (JPI) is an open access peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the advancement of pathology informatics. This is the official journal of the Association for Pathology Informatics (API). The journal aims to publish broadly about pathology informatics and freely disseminate all articles worldwide. This journal is of interest to pathologists, informaticians, academics, researchers, health IT specialists, information officers, IT staff, vendors, and anyone with an interest in informatics. We encourage submissions from anyone with an interest in the field of pathology informatics. We publish all types of papers related to pathology informatics including original research articles, technical notes, reviews, viewpoints, commentaries, editorials, symposia, meeting abstracts, book reviews, and correspondence to the editors. All submissions are subject to rigorous peer review by the well-regarded editorial board and by expert referees in appropriate specialties.