Development & validation of a format for reporting endoscopic colonic biopsies.

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Pathology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Non-neoplastic colonic diseases are common in gastroenterology practice.
• Endoscopic biopsy is crucial for diagnosing colonic diseases due to limited endoscopic findings.
• A standardized reporting format for colonic biopsies is currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel format for reporting endoscopic colonic biopsies, specifically for non-neoplastic conditions.
• To establish a comprehensive checklist of essential histological features for colonic biopsies.
• To validate the developed format using expert consensus and statistical measures.

Main Methods:

• A 71-question format was created by searching literature and expert review.
• The format was refined based on expert feedback.
• Content Validity Index (CVI) and modified kappa statistics were used with 20 subject matter experts.

Main Results:

• Fourteen experts responded, yielding a Mean Item-CVI of 0.933 and S-CVI/Average of 0.94.
• The Mean I-CVI (0.928) exceeded the benchmark of 0.78.
• Results demonstrated strong expert agreement on histological features for colonic biopsies.

Conclusions:

• The developed format meets content validity criteria for reporting endoscopic colonic biopsies.
• This standardized format can improve the accuracy and consistency of diagnosing non-neoplastic colonic diseases.
• The study provides a valuable tool for gastroenterologists and pathologists in daily practice.