Chronic active hepatitis in infants diagnosed by liver biopsy

BACKGROUND Computer-aided, digitalized telepathology was introduced about 10 years ago and is gaining acceptance as a mode of providing pathology to remote site. The usefulness of telepathology for remote diagnosis of histology, cytology and frozen section has been evaluated in USA, Europe and Japan. In Taiwan, the use of telepathology for pathological diagnosis is still rare. In order to evaluate the potential use of this technique, we undertook the study using commercialized and low-cost microscopy, personal computer and software on routine biopsy material. METHODS Sixty prostatic sextant transrectal needle biopsies, including 30 cases of adenocarcinoma and 30 cases of benign lesions, were retrieved retrospectively. The real-time dynamic images were transmitted to the remote site via internet and reviewed by a senior uropathologist who was unaware of the diagnosis. The diagnoses made at the remote site were correlated to the final diagnoses of the cases. RESULTS All malignant specimens (30/30) were correctly diagnosed by this method. Only one benign case (1/31) of nonspecific granulomatous prostatitis was misdiagnosed as poorly differentiated carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that this method is a good way for teleconsultation. Further studies on other types of specimen worth encouragement for both intra- and inter-institutional consultation.