Person:

Wilbur, David

Context.—Whole-slide imaging technology offers promise for rapid, Internet-based telepathology consultations between institutions. Before implementation, technical issues, pathologist adaptability, and morphologic pitfalls must be well characterized. Objective.—To determine whether interpretation of whole-slide images differed from glass-slide interpretation in difficult surgical pathology cases. Design.—Diagnostically challenging pathology slides from a variety of anatomic sites from an outside laboratory were scanned into whole digital format. Digital and glass slides were independently diagnosed by 2 subspecialty pathologists. Reference, digital, and glass-slide interpretations were compared. Operator comments on technical issues were gathered. Results.—Fifty-three case pairs were analyzed. There was agreement among digital, glass, and reference diagnoses in 45 cases (85%) and between digital and glass diagnoses in 48 (91%) cases. There were 5 digital cases (9%) discordant with both reference and glass diagnoses. Further review of each of these cases indicated an incorrect digital whole-slide interpretation. Neoplastic cases showed better correlation (93%) than did cases of nonneoplastic disease (88%). Comments on discordant cases related to digital whole technology focused on issues such as fine resolution and navigating ability at high magnification. Conclusions.—Overall concordance between digital whole-slide and standard glass-slide interpretations was good at 91%. Adjustments in technology, case selection, and technology familiarization should improve performance, making digital whole-slide review feasible for broader telepathology subspecialty consultation applications.

Objective. To determine the frequency of high risk (HR) HPV and intraepithelial neoplasia following ASCUS pap cytology screens in menopausal women. Study Design. Following IRB approval, we performed a retrospective review of all cases of ASCUS pap tests, HPV results, and relevant clinical-pathologic data in women age 50 or over from November 2005 to January 2007 within a tertiary care center. Statistical analyses were performed in EXCEL. Results. 344 patients were analyzed for a total of 367 screening pap tests. 25.29% (87/344) patients were HR HPV positive, with greater percentages of HR HPV cases occurring in women age 65–74. Within HR HPV cases, 79.3% (69/87) underwent colposcopy. 27.5% (19/69) biopsy proven lesions were discovered, including cervical, vulvar or vaginal (intraepithelial neoplasia). Within the negative HR HPV group 3.1% (8/257) patients were diagnosed with dysplasia or carcinoma. Within both HR HPV positive and negative groups, patients with no prior history of lower genital tract lesions or cancer were identified. Conclusion. Reflex HPV testing plays an important role in ASCUS triage in menopausal women. Pap test screening and HPV testing should not be limited to women of reproductive age as they may aid in the diagnosis of intraepithelial neoplasia in women of older age.