RAPID RESCREENING OF CERVICAL SMEARS AS A QUALITY-CONTROL METHOD

The use of a rapid rescreening method as part of an internal quality c ontrol programme is reported. During a 12-month period 33 976 smears w ere reviewed (90.9% of total workload). Two-hundred and nineteen repor ts were altered, with 23 dyskaryotic smears identified, a false-negati ve rate of 0.07%, a false-negative dyskaryotic rate of 1.7%. Smears re ported as dyskaryotic were also subjected to the rapid screening metho d (with 86.8% correctly identified) as well as using the method to ass ess smears before the usual primary screen (with 67.2% of dyskaryotic smears correctly identified). Rapid rescreening as a quality control m ethod is effective, and although it has limitations, should replace 10 % proportional rescreening as the preferred daily quality control meth od of choice.