Inter- and intra-observer variation in the reporting of cervical smears: specialist cytopathologists versus histopathologists.
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.
O'Sullivan
J P
JP
Department of Histopathology, St Richard's Hospital, Chichester, West Sussex, UK.
Ismail
S M
SM
Barnes
W S
WS
Deery
A R
AR
Gradwell
E
E
Harvey
J A
JA
Husain
O A
OA
Kocjan
G
G
McKee
G
G
Olafsdottir
R
R
Ratcliffe
N A
NA
Newcombe
R G
RG
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