Cervical cytologic smear false negative fraction. Reduction in a small community hospital.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the false negative fraction (FNF) at a small community hospital and its relation to the discovery of a significant error.


METHODS
All cervical cytologic smears (6,889) initially interpreted over a one-year period (1992) as "normal" or "near normal" were retrospectively rescreened and interpreted by outside institutions, without knowledge of the initial interpretation, to calculate yearly and quarterly FNFs.


RESULTS
The overall FNF for 1992 was 12.3% and was 19.1%, 22.2%, 3.8% and 6.1% per successive quarters in 1992. A significant error was discovered at the start of the third quarter that subsequently received both local and national media attention.


CONCLUSIONS
This study gives further proof that the FNF can be reduced to < 5% by motivated cytotechnologist/ pathologist teams, although it may not be possible to maintain this low an FNF.
Wang
S E
SE
Department of Pathology, Newport Hospital, Rhode Island 02840, USA.
Ritchie
M J
MJ
Atkinson
B F
BF
D001706:Biopsy; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D010336:Pathology / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000473:pathology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000592:standards*