Cervical Sample Takers Database

Arrow In this section

The Cervical Sample Takers Database (CSTD) has been designed for the quality assurance of cervical sample takers. All cervical sample takers in Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire & Mersey will need to be registered on the system to ensure the laboratory holds a centralised list of all sample takers working in these areas and can provide up-to-date information on each sample taker's performance data and training.

Responsibilities

The success of the Cervical Sample Takers Database relies on the users accepting and undertaking their assigned responsibilities. All users must ensure that any information they record on the database is accurate and they should ensure that the database is kept up-to-date following new user creation or any changes at later stages. It is important that the database is accessed by users regularly to monitor sample taker performance so any areas of concern can be high-lighted, and steps can be taken to resolve the problem quickly, reducing the risk to patients.

CSTD user manuals

RAG rating explained

The RAG rating for the percentage of samples meeting the sample acceptance criteria:

  • RED = 5% – 100% of samples rejected (at least 1 in 20 samples)
  • AMBER = 1% – 4% of samples rejected
  • GREEN = 0% of samples rejected

Result codes

These are the result definition codes which are used on reports on the Cervical Sample Takers’ Database:

0 ?Glandular neoplasia (non cervical)
1 Inadequate Specimen
2 Negative
3 Low grade dyskaryosis (CIN 1)
4 High grade dyskaryosis (severe) (CIN 3)
5 High grade dyskaryosis ?invasive squamous carcinoma
6 ?Glandular neoplasia of endocervical type
7 High grade dyskaryosis (moderate) (CIN 2)
8 Borderline change in squamous cells
9 Borderline change in endocervical cells
X No Cytology test undertaken

Cytology ICE manuals

(Last reviewed May 2023)