O‐4 Performance indicators of primary practitioners screening thinprep and surePath liquid based cytology samples in a large screening centre

Abstract

Introduction: In the National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme, performance of primary screeners is usually measured in house by their dyskaryotic pick up rates, most notably high grade dyskaryosis rate. The department began implementation of liquid based cytology screening in 2001 and by January 2006 both ThinPrep (58 973) and SurePath (27 738) samples were being screened. In keeping with a culture of reflective practice towards continued professional development, after the first full year of screening both systems, an audit was commissioned to assess performance of primary screeners and the laboratory.Method: A statistical comparison was done for both systems on 1) primary screeners’ reporting rates for all grades of dyskaryosis 2) their reporting rates for high grade dyskaryosis, 3) an inferential comparison to determine impact on dyskaryotic pick up rates by years of screening experience and 4) laboratory's reporting rates for unsatisfactory samples. A two year comparison was also done on the overall reporting profile of ThinPrep samples by the department. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Version 15.Results: ThinPrep versus SurePath Screening Experience 2006 versus 2004 All grade dyskaryosis P = 0.198 P = 0.314 ‐ High grade dyskaryosis P = 0.565 P = 0.383 ‐ Unsatisfactory rate P = 0.000 ‐ ‐ ThinPrep profile ‐ ‐ P = 1.000 Discussion: There is no significant difference in performance indicators for primary practitioners screening both ThinPrep and SurePath samples.