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The current laboratory procedures for respiratory specimen processing are the pick and smear technique for sputum specimens and a concentrated direct smear from a cell pellet for bronchial brush/wash. Both techniques each produce two slides to examine. This study aims to compare the screening productivity, cytological findings, diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of respiratory specimens using the current methods for processing with those of a liquid-based SurePath method (LBC-SPM) for the detection of abnormalities, and the possibility of reducing the number of unsatisfactory samples. Approximately 200 respiratory specimens will be prepared using both current and LBC-SPM and assessed using the following criteria: diagnoses, the presence of obscuring material and time taken to screen the slides. The expected quality improvement outcomes of this study using the LBC-SPM should reduce the screening time of the specimen due to the reduced number of slides and a smaller screening area. Furthermore, clearer, more visible preparations should decrease obscuring inflammatory and foreign material and thus possibly increase the sensitivity and specificity rate and decrease the unsatisfactory rate. Should these results show a statistically significant improvement in any of the quality improvement objectives, recommendations will be discussed and implemented according to management assessment and approval. |
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