DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PAPANICOLAOU SMEARS WITH CORRECT AND INCORRECT DIAGNOSES

Citation
H. Mitchell et G. Medley, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PAPANICOLAOU SMEARS WITH CORRECT AND INCORRECT DIAGNOSES, Cytopathology, 6(6), 1995, pp. 368-375
Citations number
11
Categorie Soggetti
Pathology,"Cell Biology
Journal title
ISSN journal
09565507
Volume
6
Issue
6
Year of publication
1995
Pages
368 - 375
Database
ISI
SICI code
0956-5507(1995)6:6<368:DBPSWC>2.0.ZU;2-L
Abstract
A case control study of women with carcinoma in situ (CINIII) was unde rtaken comparing Papanicolaou smears for which false negative reports had been issued with slides for which true positive reports had been m ade. The number of abnormal cells was the strongest differentiating fa ctor. Where there were less than 50 abnormal cells on the slide, the o dds of a false negative report being issued was 23.7 times greater (95 % confidence interval 3.7-150) than when there were 200 or more abnorm al cells. In false negative slides, the abnormal cells were likely to be not represented throughout the slide, present only as single cells rather than as groups, small in size and with finely granular normochr omatic nuclei. We conclude that there are intrinsic differences betwee n true positive and false negative slides. Given these characteristics , rapid rescreening of slides that are considered negative may not be an effective method of reducing the false negative rate.