Prior diagnoses influence dermatopathologists’ interpretations
Prior diagnoses swayed dermatopathologists from correct diagnosis to incorrect diagnosis in the interpretation of melanocytic lesions
When interpreting melanocytic skin biopsy specimens, knowledge of a prior diagnosis sways dermatopathologists to make more and less severe diagnoses and can also sway them from a correct to an incorrect diagnosis, according to a study published online 10 August in JAMA Dermatology.
Joann G Elmore, MD, from the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues measured the extent to which dermatopathologists’ diagnoses are influenced by prior diagnostic information from another dermatopathologist.
