Risk of Malignancy Ranges and Category Percentage Assignment in Cytopathology Reporting Systems: Are They Useful Quality Assurance Indicators?

IF 1.6 4区医学 Q3 PATHOLOGY

Acta Cytologica Pub Date : 2025-05-03 DOI:10.1159/000546228

Lester J Layfield, Zubair W Baloch

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Quality assurance (QA) is essential in cytopathology to ensure diagnostic accuracy. Common QA methods include peer reviews, 10% random reviews, and benchmarking against published standards. Benchmarking, which compares institutional data on specimen category assignment and risk of malignancy (ROM) with published body site reviews, helps evaluate performance and identify areas of improvement. Cytopathology reporting systems for various body sites categorize specimens based on ROM estimates. The diagnostic categories and ROM estimates in non-gynecologic cytopathology systems can serve as quality metrics to improve practices and maintain high standards of patient care.

Summary: A well-developed QA system in cytology is crucial for ensuring diagnostic accuracy and minimizing errors. By using tools like secondary reviews, retrospective analyses, and structured reporting systems, laboratories can improve practices, detect errors, and maintain high standards of patient care.

Key messages: The cytopathology reporting systems help provide categorical information that can guide clinicians, ensuring quality assurance (QA) and accuracy in diagnosis across various organ sites. Institutional data on category assignments and ROM can be compared with broader literature to assess accuracy and QA. Significant outliers in ROM for specific categories should trigger peer review and potential retraining to improve diagnostic accuracy.

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细胞病理学报告系统中恶性肿瘤范围和类别百分比分配的风险：它们是有用的质量保证指标吗？

背景质量保证（QA）在细胞病理学中是必不可少的，以确保诊断的准确性。常见的QA方法包括同行评审、10%随机评审和针对已发布标准的基准测试。基准测试将机构的标本类别分配和恶性肿瘤风险（ROM）数据与已发表的身体部位审查进行比较，有助于评估绩效并确定改进的领域。不同身体部位的细胞病理学报告系统根据ROM估计对标本进行分类。在非妇科细胞病理学系统的诊断类别和ROM估计可以作为质量指标，以改善实践和保持高标准的病人护理。一个完善的细胞学质量保证系统是确保诊断准确性和减少错误的关键。通过使用二次审查、回顾性分析和结构化报告系统等工具，实验室可以改进实践、发现错误并保持高标准的患者护理。

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

Acta Cytologica 生物-病理学

CiteScore

3.70

自引率

11.10%

发文量

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： With articles offering an excellent balance between clinical cytology and cytopathology, ''Acta Cytologica'' fosters the understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms behind cytomorphology and thus facilitates the translation of frontline research into clinical practice. As the official journal of the International Academy of Cytology and affiliated to over 50 national cytology societies around the world, ''Acta Cytologica'' evaluates new and existing diagnostic applications of scientific advances as well as their clinical correlations. Original papers, review articles, meta-analyses, novel insights from clinical practice, and letters to the editor cover topics from diagnostic cytopathology, gynecologic and non-gynecologic cytopathology to fine needle aspiration, molecular techniques and their diagnostic applications. As the perfect reference for practical use, ''Acta Cytologica'' addresses a multidisciplinary audience practicing clinical cytopathology, cell biology, oncology, interventional radiology, otorhinolaryngology, gastroenterology, urology, pulmonology and preventive medicine.