IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 34 / Issue 2 / pii/2007022

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.

Original Research

Colposcopists' agreement on cervical biopsy site

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1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
2 Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
3 Henderson Research Centre, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
4 Reproductive Health Program, PATH, Seattle, WA (USA)
5 Department of lnternal Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2007, 34(2), 88–90;
Published: 10 June 2007
Abstract

Objective: To determine the inter-observer agreement among colposcopists on the most abnormal area of the cervix from which a biopsy would be obtained and whether any attributes predict agreement. Material and methods: Fifty cervigrams were reviewed and 72 colposcopists from five countries indicated the site to biopsy and whether an ECC should be obtained. Prior to the study, six Canadian colposcopists met to achieve consensus on the most diseased area for biopsy. Consensus was also reached on whether an ECC was indicated. For each cervigram, percent agreement was determined between each study colposcopist and the consensus. Data were analyzed to determine the attributes associated with the consensus response. Results: The percent overall agreement of the colposcopists with the consensus diagnoses had a mean of 0.70 (95% CI, 0.65-0.75). The use of ECC was most common in Canada (15% of cases). The following factors were assessed by multivariate analysis to determine their influence on individual agreement with the consensus recommendation for the site to biopsy: country, duration of practice (less than or greater than 1 year), professional group (nurse, family doctor, pathologist, gynecologist, gynecologic oncologist), expert status (recognized national/international expert vs colposcopist), and gender. No factor was significantly associated. Conclusion: This international study was feasible and the level of inter-observer agreement among colposcopists on the location of the most severe lesions in cervical images is good.

Keywords
Colposcopy reliability
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