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Electron microscopy in pathology articles: a retrospective appraisal
J Lloreta-Trull1, L Ferrer, T Ribalta
1Department of Pathology, Hospital del Mar-IMAS-IMIM, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
Ultrastructural Pathology
|May 16, 2000
Summary
Electron microscopy (EM) is underutilized in diagnostic pathology despite its value. While 77% of indicated articles use EM, 23% could benefit from its inclusion as a complementary diagnostic tool.
Area of Science:
- Pathology
- Microscopy
Background:
- Electron microscopy (EM) is a valuable tool in research and teaching but has limited diagnostic application due to strategic or budgetary constraints.
- Potential applications of EM as an ancillary tool, quality control, or gold standard in pathology are often overlooked.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the actual and potential use of electron microscopy (EM) in diagnostic pathology articles.
- To assess the extent to which EM is employed to complement, support, or confirm pathological study results.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 2,531 articles from top diagnostic pathology journals over 60 months (July 1993-June 1998).
- Selection of 448 articles indicating the use of EM.
- Scoring of articles based on actual and potential EM content (zero, illustrative, supportive, gold standard, extensive, predominant).
Main Results:
- EM was indicated and used in 77% of the selected articles.
- EM support was notably absent in studies on serosal neoplasms and new diagnostic strategies.
- No significant trend in EM usage was observed during the study period.
Conclusions:
- Electron microscopy is utilized in the majority of indicated diagnostic pathology reports.
- A significant percentage of articles (23%) could be enhanced by incorporating EM as an ancillary, control, or gold standard method.