A Study on Screening of Premalignant Conditions of Uterine Cervix Using Pap SmearTest in the Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction:Cervical cancer has a high incidence in developing countries like India. It accounts for one-quarter of the worldwide burden.HPV virus is an etiological factor for cervical carcinoma. Pap smear is a gold standard screening tool for early detection of precancerous lesions in the uterine cervix.The aim of the study is to screen precancerous lesions of cervix using Pap smear test in tertiary care setup.Materials and Methods:After ethical approval, outpatients attending gynaecology clinic with a variety of complaints were enrolled in the study. Pap smear was taken and sent to pathology laboratory for cytological examination. Report received in due time were plotted in Excel sheet according to the proforma.Statistical analysis was done by IBM SPSS 20.0 version software. Results:In our study 269 (38.2%)participants were in the 31-40years age group.Early age at marriage was noted in 73(10.35%) participants. Two hundred and sixty–three (37.3%) participants complained of white vaginal discharge. Cervical erosion was observed in 238(33.75%) participants.The epithelial abnormalities ASCUS, LSIL, and HSIL were found in 1.98%, 4.11%, and 0.7% of the participants respectively. The most common clinical lesion seen in patients with LSIL was erosion over cervix followed by cervicitis and cervix bleeding on touch. The most abnormal Pap smear findings of HSIL were found in patients with complains of foul smelling/blood stained discharge.Conclusion:Pap smear testing is a simple, economical and safe tool for detecting precancerous cervical epithelial lesions. It should be established as a routine screening procedure to reduce the treatment burden, morbidity, and mortality.