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Implementation of pre‐captured videos for remote diagnosis of cervical cytology specimens
Author(s) -
Archondakis Stavros,
Roma Maria,
Kaladelfou Evropi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1365-2303
pISSN - 0956-5507
DOI - 10.1111/cyt.12948
Subject(s) - medicine , squamous intraepithelial lesion , telepathology , medical diagnosis , radiology , cytology , cervical intraepithelial neoplasia , medical physics , pathology , telemedicine , cervical cancer , health care , cancer , economics , economic growth
Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of implementing short videos captured by static telecytological applications for remote evaluation of cervical smears prepared by means of liquid‐based cytology. Methods The study was performed on representative short videos captured from a total of 404 cervical smears (benign, 135; atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, 92; low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, 62; high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, 87; squamous cell carcinoma, 26; adenocarcinoma, 2) that were sent via file transfer protocol to password‐protected accounts for remote review by three independent cytopathologists. In addition to diagnosis, reviewers commented on the overall digital video quality. Contributors’ and reviewers’ diagnoses were collected, recorded, and statistically evaluated. Results Statistical evaluation detected no significant difference in diagnostic accuracy between cytological diagnoses based on short videos versus conventional slides. The overall interobserver agreement ranged from substantial to almost perfect with κ values of 0.74‐0.91. Conclusions Short videos produced by static telecytology applications can be used as an alternative method for telecytological diagnosis of cervical smears, particularly for quality control purposes. It is a prompt and valid method for quality assessment and proficiency testing and can be integrated into the daily workflow. Short pre‐captured videos of cervical smears can be used for rapid and accurate diagnosis, diminishing turnaround times and improving small cytology departments’ quality indices. They can also be used for archiving, teleconsultation, and second opinion purposes, improving the performance of already existing static telecytology stations.