Bethesda 2001 Implementation and Reporting Rates: 2003 Practices of Participants in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program in Cervicovaginal Cytology

Abstract Context.—The 2001 Bethesda System for the reporting of cervical cytology specimens and the use of new liquid-based and human papillomavirus testing technologies have led to changes in cervical cytology reporting practices. Objectives.—To analyze current laboratory reporting practices using Bethesda 2001 terminology and to compare results with previous survey data from 1996. Design.—Questionnaire survey mailed to 1751 laboratories in mid-2003. Participants.—Laboratories enrolled in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program in Cervicovaginal Cytology. Results.—Of the 759 responding laboratories, most (85.5%) had implemented Bethesda 2001 terminology, and the majority had adopted major changes, such as elimination of the benign cellular changes category and the satisfactory but limited category. The median reporting rate for low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion was 2.1%, compared to a 1996 median rate of 1.6%, but the increase was confined to liquid-based preparati...