title: [False negatives and quality assurance in cervico-uterine cytology].
abstract: Determining the false negative rate of cervical smear interpretation is an important part of quality assessment and a necessary step for any improvement program. We report our experience of negative smear rescreening of 522 histologically proven high-grade lesions or cancers, over a 5 to 7 year preceding period. False negative rate was 6.88% as calculated with a narrow definition of error, i.e. intra-epithelial lesions and atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance. It was 10.78% as calculated with a broad definition of error, including minor anomalies such as repair and parakeratosis. Bibliographic data account for 0 to 94% false negative diagnoses, owing to great disparities in calculating the false negative rate as well as in rescreening. However, a 10% traditionally calculated and standardised false negative rate is a reasonable and achievable goal in a view of quality improvement. Systematic random rescreening of 10% of negative smears is ineffective.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Pathologie, Besançon.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Labbé
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petitjean
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011786:Quality Control; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology
vernacular_title: Faux négatifs et assurance de qualité en cytologie cervico-utérine. A l'occasion d'une relecture à partir de 522 lésions histologiques.