The Use of Cytology Tests in the Diagnosis of Cervical Lesions in High Risk Patients

Numerous comparative studies were conducted of Liquidbased Cytology (LBC) vs Conventional Pap (CP) tests for the detection of cervical carcinomas and its precursors, however, few studies were performed to compare these two methods for detection of cervical infection by microorganisms, commonly seen in cervical cytology. The Aim of this Work: To evaluate the use of manual liquid-based cytology (MLBC) and conventional pap smear test (CP) in the diagnosis of different cervical lesions, in high risk patients. Methods: Four hundreds women with cervical symptoms were examined by cervical smear tests (200 MLBC and 200 CP). The cytology results were confirmed by colposcopicguided biopsy. Results: Comparable findings were noticed by both CP and MLBC: Specific infection (Trichomonas Vaginalis and Candida Albicans) were diagnosed in 9% in CP and 7.5% by LBC, abnormal epithelial changes (CINI, II and AGC) were found in 3% in CP & 3.5% in LBC, malignant tumors were diagnosed in 1% by CP & 1.5% by LBC. There were 28% and 30% unsatisfactory tests in CP and LBC respectively. Each test showed 95% sensitivity & 35% specificity in detecting specific inflammation, and 88% sensitivity & 39% specificity in detecting malignancy in the cervix, with no statistical differences between them, as referred by biopsy. Conclusion: MLBC is comparable to CP in detecting different cervical lesions and is more suitable to be applied in our community.