Incorporation of microwave tissue processing into a routine pathology laboratory: impact on turnaround times and laboratory work patterns

Abstract

To examine the impact of microwave (MW) tissue processing on turnaround times (TATs) in a routine diagnostic laboratory. A retrospective review of TATs for tissue processing (specimen receipt to completion of H&E-stained section) and pathologists' report generation (receipt of stained section to validation of completed report) for small biopsies processed in a MW-histoprocessor (Milestone RHS-2, Italy) was performed and compared with similar TATs for specimens processed conventionally prior to the introduction of MW histoprocessing. The TAT for conventional tissue processing was almost 21 h compared with 6.5 h by MW-processing. Reporting TATs fell from 4.3 to 3.2 hours per case, respectively, largely because stained sections became available for reporting in the early afternoon instead of towards the end of the working day. If small biopsies are triaged and handled separately, the TATs can be further reduced, and in selected urgent cases, sections can be available for diagnosis within 90 minutes. The quality of MW processed sections was indistinguishable from those obtained with routine 4-hour processing. The drastic reduction in TATs signifies a new era in histopathological diagnosis in which the majority of reports can be generated within 24 hours of specimen receipt with attendant impact on patient management and hospitalisation costs.