Premium
Pap smear risk management by process control
Author(s) -
Gill Gary W.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
cancer cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19970825)81:4<198::aid-cncr2>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - medicine , cites , workload , process (computing) , risk analysis (engineering) , medical physics , computer science , operating system , fishery , biology
Successfully examining Pap smears requires optimizing and standardizing the sides of the “Cytotect Triangle”: specimen, microscope, and observer. This article describes pertinent aspects of the total process, cites some commonly and uncommonly observed limitations, introduces new concepts, proposes a systematic approach to identifying factors that contribute to false‐negative results, and calls for a major reduction in the daily slide‐screening workload for cytotechnologists based on total imaging screening coverage as an objective standard of practice.