Validity of Intra-Operative Frozen: Results from A Single Tertiary Center

Abstract

Objectives:Frozen Section (Fs) Is Mainly Performed To Decide If The Sampled Tissue In Surgery Is Benign Or Malignant. The Accuracy Of Fs Exams Varies Based On The Specific Anatomical Site. False Diagnoses May Cause Consequences For Surgeons And Patients, Considering The Circumstances Of False Positive Reports. In This Study, We Aimed To Evaluate The Accuracy Of This Method (Frozen Biopsy) In Surgeries.

Materials and Methods:In This Retrospective Study, Frozen Sections Of The Pathology Department Of Taleghani Hospital Have Been Reviewed And Compared With The Permanent Section Results As Gold Standard To Evaluate The Sensitivity And Specificity Of The Test. In Cases Where The Results Were Dissonant, We Investigated The Causes Of This Discordance.

Results:A Total Of 1016 Samples From 557 Patients Were Studied. The Mean Age Of The Patients Was 52.15 ± 16.94. In The Study Of Frozen Sections, 778 Sections (76.6%) Were Benign, 192 Sections (18.9%) Were Malignant, 38 Sections (3.7%) Were Suspected, And In 8 Sections (0.8%) The Samples Could Not Be Identified Due To The Inappropriate Specimen. In All, 95 Cases (9.35%) Were Deferred, And Of The Remaining, 19 Cases (2.06%) Were Discordant. Out Of 19 Discordant Cases, 13 Cases (68.4%) Were Due To Pathologist Interpretation Error. Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value, And Negative Predictive Value Of All Samples Were 93.37%, 99.32%, 97.13%, And 98.38%, respectively.

Conclusion:Frozen section is a valid test for intra-operative consultation and ongoing monitoring in pathology departments should be performed to improve FS accuracy.