01507nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001100055653001200066653002500078653002300103653003100126653000900157100001400166700001500180245008600195856004100281300001000322490000700332520092400339022001401263       1991                            d  c1991 Mar10aHumans10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aObserver Variation10aReproducibility of Results10aSkin1 aAbraham B1 aCariappa A00aInter- and intra-laboratory variation in the reporting of skin smears in leprosy.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v59n1a11.pdf  a76-810 v593 a<p>This paper defines the variations in the reporting of skin smears between a base and field laboratory in a leprosy control program. Ten percent of all slides read by the field laboratory in a control area were re-read by the base laboratory. There was almost no variation in the reporting of negative slides, but a variation of 1 + was present in approximately 92% of positive slides. Thus, there was agreement in approximately 8% of positive slides. This paper also defines the variations in the reporting of positive slides under "ideal" conditions by describing the results of a study on intra- and inter-observer variations among technicians at the base laboratory. There was between 45% and 55% agreement within observers and about 36% agreement between observers. The results of both studies are compared. Simple guidelines are derived to monitor the reporting of skin smears in leprosy control programs.</p>
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