title: Dynamic telecytologic evaluation of imprint cytology samples from CT-guided lung biopsies: a feasibility study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study assessed the feasibility of telecytological evaluation of samples from CT-guided lung biopsies using a dynamic telecytological system in which the microscope was operated by personnel from the radiology department at the site of the biopsy and a cytologist off-site diagnosed the biopsy sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  45 imprint samples from CT-guided biopsies of lung lesions were reviewed by two cytologists using a telecytological microscope (Olympus BX51, Tokyo, Japan). The telecytological microscope was operated by one radiologist and one radiology technician. The cytological samples were classified by a cytologist into four categories: benign, malignant, atypical cells of undetermined significance, and non-diagnostic. The results were compared with those of a previous consensus reading of two independent cytologists (gold standard).
  
  
  RESULTS
  When the radiologist was operating the microscope, the diagnostic accuracy was 100% as both cytologists came to the correct diagnosis in all samples. When the technician operated the microscope, two diagnoses of cyotologist 1 differed from the gold standard. Thus, the accuracy for the technician was 95.56%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Telecytological evaluation of imprint samples from CT-guided lung biopsies is feasible because it can be performed with high diagnostic accuracy if personnel from the radiology department operate the microscope.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Otto Wagner Hospital, Sanatoriumsstrasse 2, 1140 Vienna, Austria. helmut.prosch@billrothhaus.at
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Prosch
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bernhardt
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schalleschak
authors.forename: Ewald
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schober
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rowhani
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mostbeck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001317:Austria; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D003581:Cytodiagnosis / Q000379:methods; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling; D019113:Telepathology / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*