title: An analysis of factors that influence the ASCUS/SIL ratio of pathologists.
abstract: In pursuit of physician-specific performance data in cytology, we have been calculating the ASCUS/SIL (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance/squamous intraepithelial lesion) ratio of cytopathologists (CPs) and providing confidential feedback every 6 months. At the same time, thin-layer technology was introduced as an alternative to conventional smears. Thus we analyzed factors that may influence the ASCUS/SIL ratio, particularly the effect of periodic feedback on outliers (defined by a professional benchmark). For 3 years, the mean ASCUS/SIL ratio for all CPs decreased significantly from 2.92 to 1.87. There was great variability in the mean ASCUS/SIL ratio among 12 CPs (range, 1.11-5.89). Of the 6 CPs who worked continuously during this time, 2 showed a statistically significant decrease in their ASCUS/SIL ratio, including the CP with the highest ratio; 1 showed a significant increase. The mean ASCUS/SIL ratio did not correlate well with years of CP experience or with individual annual case volume. The ASCUS/SIL ratio of some CPs can decrease significantly over time. Whether it was due to feedback or the introduction of thin-layer preparations could not be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Pitt County Memorial Hospital and Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Juskevicius
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Cibas
mesh_terms: D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods; D016526:Workload