To compare studies that used telepathology systems vs conventional microscopy for intraoperative consultation (frozen-section) diagnosis.
A total of 56 telepathology studies with 13,996 cases in aggregate were identified through database searches.
The concordance of telepathology with the reference standard was generally excellent, with a weighted mean of 96.9%. In comparison, we identified seven studies using conventional intraoperative consultation that showed a weighted mean concordance of 98.3%. Evaluation of the risk of bias showed that most of these studies were low risk.
Despite limitations such as variation in reporting and publication bias, this systematic review provides strong support for the safety of using telepathology for intraoperative consultations.