CAP opens public comment period for updated WSI guideline

Keeping pace with the growth in clinical applications for whole slide imaging and digital pathology, the College of American Pathologists (CAP), in collaboration with the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and the Association for Pathology Informatics (API), is updating its 2013 guideline "Validating Whole Slide Imaging for Diagnostic Purposes in Pathology."

The updated draft recommendations are now open for public comment through July 19, 2019. All stakeholders-;pathologists, histotechnologists, laboratory personnel, quality managers, hospitals, health systems, and vendors are encouraged to provide feedback on these draft recommendations.

To rely on WSI for diagnostic purposes, it's vital that laboratories validate the extent to which WSI can safely replace conventional light microscopy as the method by which pathologists review slides from clinical specimens. And that validation needs to happen before diagnoses are made using WSI."

Andrew J. Evans, MD, PhD, FCAP, chair for the guideline update

Dr. Evans led an expert panel of pathologists, histotechnologists, and a methodologist in the systematic reviewed of nearly 1,400 titles and abstracts, 163 manuscripts, and extracted data from 62 studies to develop the 2019 draft recommendations.

The CAP now uses the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology for guideline development. Using this approach, three draft recommendations and nine Good Practice Statements are presented for public comments.