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Frequency and Clinical Importance of Pathological Discordance in Lymphoma

We conducted a retrospective review of discordant pathology for lymphoma patients treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital between 2000 and 2003. We identified 2818 lymphoma patients of which 1567 (38%) met inclusion criteria with 167 discordant cases (discordance rate 15.7%). Six reviewers blinded to clinical management rated potential for harm on a minimal to severe scoring. The majority (67.6%) received a rating of moderate to severe. Review of actual clinical management revealed unnecessary surgical procedures, incorrect chemotherapy and under or over treatment of patients. For discordant cases, 8.4% were identified as having severe actual harm. This means that 1/6 patients diagnosed with lymphoma may have a change in diagnosis after pathologic review, 1/9 will have discordance with the potential to cause moderate to severe consequences, and 1/75 will experience significant clinical harm. We conclude that pathologic discordance in lymphoma is common and can lead to patient harm.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/18799
Date14 February 2010
CreatorsKukreti, Vishal
ContributorsEtchells, Edward
Source SetsUniversity of Toronto
Languageen_ca
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis

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