Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Second cervical smears obtained at short time intervals often exhibit a lesser degree of abnormality than the first smear. We studied the effect of time interval between smears on diagnoses in two large, distinctive cohorts. STUDY DESIGN: Patients with two or more satisfactory smears with at least one smear or a cervical biopsy showing atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or greater were selected. Patients were divided into four subsets by test intervals (days) (≤ 45, 46-90, 91-120, >120) and compared statistically. RESULTS: The distribution of differences between results for the short-interval subsets (<120) was significantly different (P<.01) from the interval subset >120 days. At short intervals the results revealed loss of sensitivity in the second smear as compared to the initial smear and concurrent biopsies. CONCLUSION: Rapidly repeated cervical smears show poor agreement with the biopsy and may be misleading. This effect is most pronounced when the interval is <45 days. Colposcopists should consider whether concurrent smears shortly after an abnormal smear are worth performing, given the loss of sensitivity.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 269-276 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Acta Cytologica |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- cervical smears
- follow-up studies
- predictive value of tests
- time factors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anatomy
- Cell Biology
- Histology
Cite this
Time interval effect on repeat cervical smear results. / Bishop, John W; Hartinger, James S.; Pawlick, Gene F.
In: Acta Cytologica, Vol. 41, No. 2, 1997, p. 269-276.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Time interval effect on repeat cervical smear results
AU - Bishop, John W
AU - Hartinger, James S.
AU - Pawlick, Gene F.
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Second cervical smears obtained at short time intervals often exhibit a lesser degree of abnormality than the first smear. We studied the effect of time interval between smears on diagnoses in two large, distinctive cohorts. STUDY DESIGN: Patients with two or more satisfactory smears with at least one smear or a cervical biopsy showing atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or greater were selected. Patients were divided into four subsets by test intervals (days) (≤ 45, 46-90, 91-120, >120) and compared statistically. RESULTS: The distribution of differences between results for the short-interval subsets (<120) was significantly different (P<.01) from the interval subset >120 days. At short intervals the results revealed loss of sensitivity in the second smear as compared to the initial smear and concurrent biopsies. CONCLUSION: Rapidly repeated cervical smears show poor agreement with the biopsy and may be misleading. This effect is most pronounced when the interval is <45 days. Colposcopists should consider whether concurrent smears shortly after an abnormal smear are worth performing, given the loss of sensitivity.
AB - OBJECTIVE: Second cervical smears obtained at short time intervals often exhibit a lesser degree of abnormality than the first smear. We studied the effect of time interval between smears on diagnoses in two large, distinctive cohorts. STUDY DESIGN: Patients with two or more satisfactory smears with at least one smear or a cervical biopsy showing atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or greater were selected. Patients were divided into four subsets by test intervals (days) (≤ 45, 46-90, 91-120, >120) and compared statistically. RESULTS: The distribution of differences between results for the short-interval subsets (<120) was significantly different (P<.01) from the interval subset >120 days. At short intervals the results revealed loss of sensitivity in the second smear as compared to the initial smear and concurrent biopsies. CONCLUSION: Rapidly repeated cervical smears show poor agreement with the biopsy and may be misleading. This effect is most pronounced when the interval is <45 days. Colposcopists should consider whether concurrent smears shortly after an abnormal smear are worth performing, given the loss of sensitivity.
KW - cervical smears
KW - follow-up studies
KW - predictive value of tests
KW - time factors
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0031001930&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 9100753
AN - SCOPUS:0031001930
VL - 41
SP - 269
EP - 276
JO - Acta Cytologica
JF - Acta Cytologica
SN - 0001-5547
IS - 2
ER -