INTRODUCTION In both Canada and the United States, workload measurement for anatomic pathology is mainly based on complexity and clinical significance of specimens, with gross examination being a considerable contributor. While Pathologists' Assistants (PAs) play an increasing role in gross examination, there is little known regarding the time required for PAs to complete grossing tasks. This information is essential for effective staffing and workload management in pathology laboratories. The objective of our study was to determine the time required for PAs to gross second and third trimester singleton placentas in a large tertiary hospital with a significant perinatal pathology service. MATERIALS AND METHODS For our study, 7 certified PAs each grossed a minimum of 10 second and third trimester singleton placentas using a standard placental grossing protocol, an electronic laboratory information system, and voice recognition dictation software. Placental specimens requiring photography, sampling for ancillary studies, or immediate pathologist's consultation were excluded. We calculated average and standard deviation of grossing times for each PA, overall average grossing time, and 95% confidence interval using a mixed linear regression model. We analyzed the impact of PA job experience, degree obtained, and number of blocks prepared on overall average in a multivariate analysis. RESULTS The mean grossing times for each PA ranged from 11.0 (standard deviation [sd] = 2.0) to 17.8 (sd = 4.5) minutes. The overall average grossing time was 14.5 minutes, with a 95% confidence interval of 11.7 to 17.3 minutes. In multivariate analysis, an increase in the number of blocks prepared was significantly associated with longer overall average grossing time. If 4 blocks were prepared consistently, the model predicted a slightly lower overall average of 13.3 minutes, with a 95% confidence interval of 10.9 to 15.7 minutes. DISCUSSION To our knowledge, our study is the first to objectively report time required for PAs to perform gross examinations of routine second and third trimester singleton placentas. The methodology of our study is replicable and can be applied to other specimen types and laboratory settings. Previously, estimated grossing times for specimens were primarily based on retrospective surveys, which were susceptible to recall errors and subjectivity. However, our study demonstrates objective data collection is achievable. Furthermore, the data collected from this study offer valuable insights into the accuracy of previous and current pathology workload models for second and third trimester singleton placentas.

中文翻译：

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病理学家助理对妊娠中期和晚期单胎胎盘进行常规肉眼检查所需的时间。

引言 在加拿大和美国，解剖病理学的工作量测量主要基于标本的复杂性和临床意义，其中肉眼检查占相当大的比例。虽然病理学家助理 (PA) 在粗略检查中发挥着越来越重要的作用，但人们对 PA 完成粗略检查任务所需的时间知之甚少。这些信息对于病理实验室的有效人员配置和工作量管理至关重要。我们研究的目的是确定在一家拥有重要围产期病理学服务的大型三级医院中，PA 完成妊娠中期和晚期单胎胎盘所需的时间。材料和方法 在我们的研究中，7 个经过认证的 PA 使用标准胎盘采集方案、电子实验室信息系统和语音识别听写软件，分别采集了至少 10 个妊娠中期和晚期的单胎胎盘。需要拍照、辅助研究取样或立即病理学家咨询的胎盘标本被排除在外。我们使用混合线性回归模型计算了每个 PA 的总收入时间的平均值和标准差、总体平均总收入时间以及 95% 置信区间。我们通过多变量分析分析了 PA 工作经验、获得的学位和准备的模块数量对总体平均水平的影响。结果 每个 PA 的平均播放时间范围为 11.0（标准差 [sd] = 2.0）到 17.8（sd = 4.5）分钟。总体平均播放时间为 14.5 分钟，95% 置信区间为 11.7 至 17.3 分钟。在多变量分析中，准备的块数量的增加与更长的总体平均总收入时间显着相关。如果一致准备 4 个区块，则模型预测的总体平均值会稍低，为 13.3 分钟，95% 置信区间为 10.9 到 15.7 分钟。讨论 据我们所知，我们的研究是第一个客观报告 PA 对妊娠中期和晚期单胎胎盘进行常规粗略检查所需时间的研究。我们的研究方法是可复制的，可以应用于其他样本类型和实验室环境。此前，样本的预计销售时间主要基于回顾性调查，这很容易受到回忆错误和主观性的影响。然而，我们的研究表明客观的数据收集是可以实现的。此外，本研究收集的数据为了解妊娠中期和晚期单胎胎盘先前和当前病理工作负荷模型的准确性提供了宝贵的见解。