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A survey of obstetricians' views on placental pathology reporting
Author(s) -
Walsh Colin A.,
McAuliffe Fionnuala M.,
Turowski Gitta,
Roald Borghild,
Mooney Eoghan E.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2013.01.008
Subject(s) - medicine , norwegian , workload , population , family medicine , obstetrics and gynaecology , gynecology , obstetrics , pregnancy , philosophy , linguistics , environmental health , computer science , operating system , biology , genetics
Objective To determine the opinion of clinical obstetricians regarding interpretation of placental reports, including a recently proposed Norwegian classification system. Methods Paper and online surveys were circulated to practicing obstetricians in Ireland. Data on clinician experience, clinical workload, and exposure to placental pathology reporting were collated. Additionally, clinicians' opinions regarding the Norwegian classification system were sought. Statistical analysis was performed using Statsdirect version 2.7.8. Results Sixty‐two practicing clinical obstetricians completed the survey. Overall, 47 (75.8%) respondents had at least 5 years of experience in clinical obstetrics. The population surveyed had a high level of clinicopathologic exposure, with 55 (88.7%) regularly attending a perinatal morbidity conference and 57 (91.9%) reading placental pathology reports. A significantly higher proportion of experienced clinicians read placental pathology reports (46/47 [97.9%]) compared with clinicians with less experience (11/15 [73.3%]; P = 0.01). Overall, 51 (82.3%) obstetricians believed that introduction of the Norwegian classification would improve interpretation of placental findings; this high acceptance rate was similar for both experienced and less experienced clinicians ( P > 0.99). Conclusion The Norwegian classification system is a clinician‐friendly system for placental pathology reporting.