title: Intra-Operative Frozen Sections: Experience at A Tertiary Care Centre
abstract: The present study was conducted to assess error rates with diagnosis using intra-operative frozen sections, and to
  indicate ways to increase overall performance. Over a period of two years, 227 cases were biopsied intra-operatively.
  Errors were observed in 14 cases. Four of these were sampling errors, one by a pathologist and three by surgeons. In
  seven cases incorrect interpretations were made. Epithelial dysplasia was observed on definitive histology in two cases
  which was not reported intra-operatively. One case was of ectopic thyroid. In cases of oral cancer where sentinel lymph
  nodes were sampled, immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin was performed to facilitate identification of micrometastasis.
  Only single case displayed tumor deposits which was not evident morphologically. Resection margins were reported
  in seventy eight cases. Some 18% (14/50) benefited from revision of margins; overall sensitivity of intra-operative
  frozen sections for marginal status was 71.4%, with a specificity of 90.3%. Overall sensitivity was 75% and specificity
  was 97.5%. Careful observation, pathologist experience and knowledge of limitations help in improving the overall
  diagnostic outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, King George&#039;s Medical University, Lucknow. Email: preavn@gmail.com
authors.forename: Agarwal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Preeti
authors.forename: Gupta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sameer
authors.forename: Singh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kulranjan
authors.forename: Sonkar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arun Abhinav
authors.forename: Rani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Preeti
authors.forename: Yadav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sunita
authors.forename: Goel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Madhu Mati
keywords: Intra-operative Frozen section; accuracy; micrometastasis; margin status; sensitivity