Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33503002›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021

Digital Pathology During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy: Survey Study.

Simone Giaretto, Salvatore Lorenzo Renne, Daoud Rahal, Paola Bossi, Piergiuseppe Colombo, Paola Spaggiari, Sofia Manara, Mauro Sollai, Barbara Fiamengo, Tatiana Brambilla and 12 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Simone Giaretto *Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-2742-7587
Salvatore Lorenzo Renne *Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-0186-1318
Daoud RahalDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5579-7550
Paola BossiDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-2024-6668
Piergiuseppe ColomboDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-6161-6138
Paola SpaggiariDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-2905-1736
Sofia ManaraDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-2579-0358
Mauro SollaiDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-1527-9342
Barbara FiamengoDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-6351-8964
Tatiana BrambillaDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-6899-2681
Bethania FernandesDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-4327-1586
Stefania RaoDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-0665-0146
Abubaker ElaminDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-3573-3207
Marina ValeriDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9998-8762
Camilla De CarloDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5236-8307
Vincenzo BelsitoDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5531-8583
Cesare LancellottiDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-6465-5995
Miriam CieriDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-3669-6949
Angelo CaginiDepartment of Pathology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Rozzano (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-1288-3993
Luigi TerraccianoDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9393-9660
Massimo RoncalliDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-7901-8910
Luca Di TommasoDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele (MI), Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-9013-4728

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTransition to digital pathology usually takes months or years to be completed. We were familiarizing ourselves with digital pathology solutions at the time when the COVID-19 outbreak forced us to embark on an abrupt transition to digital pathology.

objectiveThe aim of this study was to quantitatively describe how the abrupt transition to digital pathology might affect the quality of diagnoses, model possible causes by probabilistic modeling, and qualitatively gauge the perception of this abrupt transition.

methodsA total of 17 pathologists and residents participated in this study; these participants reviewed 25 additional test cases from the archives and completed a final psychologic survey. For each case, participants performed several different diagnostic tasks, and their results were recorded and compared with the original diagnoses performed using the gold standard method (ie, conventional microscopy). We performed Bayesian data analysis with probabilistic modeling.

resultsThe overall analysis, comprising 1345 different items, resulted in a 9% (117/1345) error rate in using digital slides. The task of differentiating a neoplastic process from a nonneoplastic one accounted for an error rate of 10.7% (42/392), whereas the distinction of a malignant process from a benign one accounted for an error rate of 4.2% (11/258). Apart from residents, senior pathologists generated most discrepancies (7.9%, 13/164). Our model showed that these differences among career levels persisted even after adjusting for other factors.

conclusionsOur findings are in line with previous findings, emphasizing that the duration of transition (ie, lengthy or abrupt) might not influence the diagnostic performance. Moreover, our findings highlight that senior pathologists may be limited by a digital gap, which may negatively affect their performance with digital pathology. These results can guide the process of digital transition in the field of pathology.

Indexed as

Clinical CompetenceBayes TheoremCOVID-19Diagnostic ImagingDisease OutbreaksHumansImage Processing, Computer-AssistedInternship and ResidencyItalyMicroscopyPathology, ClinicalSurveys and QuestionnairesBayesian data analysisCOVID19digital pathologyprobabilistic modeling

Identifiers

PMID33503002
PMCPMC7901595

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.