Volume 34, Issue 5 pp. 419-422
REVIEW

Digital diagnostic cytopathology: Has the pandemic brought us closer?

Ilaria Girolami

Ilaria Girolami

Department of Pathology, Provincial Hospital of Bolzano (SABES-ASDAA), Bolzano-Bozen, Italy

Lehrkrankenhaus der Paracelsus Medizinischen Privatuniversität, Salzburg, Austria

Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

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Albino Eccher

Corresponding Author

Albino Eccher

Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University and Hospital Trust of Verona, Verona, Italy

Correspondence

Albino Eccher, Department of Pathology and Diagnostics, University and Hospital Trust of Verona, P.le Stefani n. 1, 37126 Verona, Italy.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 31 January 2023

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a powerful change driver in the field of pathology and has had relevant consequences on the practice of cytopathology, in terms of changes in workload, rates of malignancy, and the performance of cytology. At the same time, regulatory authorities have relaxed their requirements for the deployment of digital pathology for remote diagnostic reporting. However, most of these improvements have concerned digital histopathology. Data from a literature search show that experiences in digital cytopathology during the pandemic have concerned mainly educational and academic activities. From a broader point of view, when searching for all published literature on digital pathology, only a minority of papers deal with cytopathology, but a noticeable increase in publications has been seen in the last 10 years, with an upward trend toward a maximum of papers in 2021. Indeed, the pandemic has led to greater awareness of the possibility of digital for cytopathology as well.

Graphical Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a powerful change driver in the field of pathology and has led to greater awareness of the possibility of digital for cytopathology. Most of the published evidence for the impact of COVID on cytopathology deals with the workload, diagnostic yield, and rate of malignancy, but there are numerous reports on the efficacy and emerging advantages of digital cytopathology in training and teaching. The pandemic has not brought us closer to a digital diagnosis in cytopathology in the same way as in surgical pathology, but has definitely led to an increased awareness of the issues related to digital cytology and the potential benefits that may come from the adoption of whole slide imaging for this field of pathology.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.

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