title: Inter- and intra-observer variation in the reporting of cervical smears: specialist cytopathologists versus histopathologists.
abstract: One hundred and ten cervical smears were circulated to five specialist consultant cytopathologists and five consultant histopathologists. Of these smears, 100 were randomized and re-circulated. The cytopathologists reported endocervical cells and wart virus infection more frequently than the histopathologists, although neither group showed good inter-observer agreement for either assessment. Apart from smear adequacy and the presence of endocervical cells, both groups showed good intra-observer agreement in all the parameters measured. This suggests that overall individuals were applying their own personal criteria with consistency over time, although a previous study had shown considerable lack of inter-observer agreement among the histopathologists on the grade of dyskaryosis and the management recommendation. The results indicate that specialist cytopathologists bring a different viewpoint to the reporting of cervical smears than histopathologists. They also show a lack of standardization in the reporting of smears despite the guidelines issued by the British Society for Clinical Cytology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, West Sussex, UK.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Deery
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gradwell
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: O A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Husain
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kocjan
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Olafsdottir
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Ratcliffe
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Newcombe
mesh_terms: D003581:Cytodiagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008511:Medicine; D015588:Observer Variation; D010340:Pathology, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013038:Specialization; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data