Results of A Thousand Pap Smears Analyzed at the Histology - Embryology and Cell Pathology Laboratory

Abstract

Introduction:A Cervical Pap Smear (CPS) is a test that allows early detection of cell lesions. Cervical cancer, the second leading cause of death in women in Africa, manifests itself in precancerous lesions that can be identified by cytology. Methodology: This was a prospective and retrospective study performed over period of 23 years. We examined 1,000 consecutive CPS samples. Results: Over 7658 lab exams done at the laboratory, the frequency CPS was 13, 05%. In 43.60% of cases, the reason for carrying out the examination was systematic screening. The mean age of the patients was 40.93 years. Patients with an age between 37 and 46 years were predominant (34.3%). This same age group showed more cellular abnormalities with Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS) in first position, followed by the low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Infection was found in the 37 and 46 age group and inflammation was present in 29.69% of cases. The correlation study of age and infection showed a significant link between these two variables (p-value = 0.00000383). Bacterial cervicitis was the cause of infection in 7.8%, followed by HPV infection 7.2%. Suspicious epithelial abnormalities were present in 20.87 %. High-grade intraepithelial lesions were represented in 1.75% of cases. The CPS with hemorrhagic characteristics represented 35.80 %. At the end of all this we can say that the need to implement policies of systematic surveillance of genital diseases through routine screening at its initial stage is imperative.