Cytologic features of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in ThinPrep Papanicolaou test slides: comparison of cases that performed poorly with those that performed well in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program in Cervicovaginal Cytology.
BACKGROUND
Conventional Papanicolaou (Pap) test slides of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) that are frequently misdiagnosed are known to have relatively few dysplastic cells. Whether this is true of cases of HSIL in ThinPrep Pap Test specimens is not known.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if cases of HSIL in ThinPrep specimens that are frequently missed have relatively few dysplastic cells.


METHODS
The cytologic features of 16 ThinPrep cases of HSIL that performed poorly in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program were compared with 22 ThinPrep Pap Test cases that performed extremely well.


RESULTS
Significantly more cases that performed poorly had fewer than 250 dysplastic cells (13/16) than cases that performed well (3/22) (P <.001).


CONCLUSIONS
ThinPrep Pap Test cases with a diagnosis of HSIL that performed poorly in this program had significantly fewer dysplastic cells than those that performed well.
Renshaw
Andrew A
AA
Department of Pathology, Baptist Hospital of Miami, Miami, Fla 33176, USA. andrewr@bhssf.org
Schulte
Michael A
MA
Plott
Elizabeth
E
Dubray-Benstein
Barbara
B
Cobb
Camilla J
CJ
Lozano
Richard L
RL
Neal
Margaret H
MH
Hughes
Jonathan H
JH
Young
Nancy A
NA
Prey
Marianne
M
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D014481:United States; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000473:pathology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards