Original Research Article
Year: 2018 | Month: July-September | Volume: 3 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 88-92
The Diagnostic Accuracy of Frozen Section Compared to Routine Histological Technique- A Comparative Study
GMC Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India
Corresponding Author: Dr Sarita Devrao Dakhure
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Intraoperative consultation by frozen section technique is an invaluable tool for immediate diagnosis. Its accuracy and limitations vary with different anatomical sites.
Aim: Qualitative morphological comparison between frozen section and routine formalin fixed paraffin embedded sections and determine the diagnostic accuracy in various anatomical sites.
Materials and Methods: 75 tissue specimens from 72 cases were studied over a period of 20 months. Diagnostic accuracy of frozen section and its morphological quality and reliability in comparison to histopathology was evaluated for overall morphology. The turnaround time and limitations in section preparation and problems encountered were assessed.
Results: Diagnostic accuracy of frozen section was 90.7%with, false negative rate of 4% and 5.3% of inconsistent diagnosis.The nuclear details, cellular outline and overall morphological quality of frozen section was slightly inferior to that of routine histopathology section, however, staining and cytoplasmic details were comparable. Most common limitation was freezing artifact. The average turnaround time was within 30 minutes in 76% cases.
Conclusion: Intra-operative frozen section diagnosis is very useful and highly accurate procedure but one needs to be aware of its indications and limitations. Avoiding technical errors in sectioning and staining, intimal cooperation with surgeon can avoid certain limitations and provide rapid, reliable, cost effective information necessary for optimum patient care.
Keywords: Frozen section, Diagnosis and Indications.