Colposcopic evaluation of cervix and its correlation with Papanicolaou smear.

Abstract

Cervical cancer is a well-known woman’s health threat, it ranks second most common gynaecological neoplasm in the developing countries like India. Its long pre-invasive phase provides an opportunistic window to screen and treat the disease. Aim of the study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of colposcopy over conventional pap’s smear. This prospective study was conducted over 200 women in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Government medical college, Kota, Rajasthan from march 2021 to September 2022.Methods and Material:  Eligible women undergone per speculum examination, pap’s smear, colposcopy and colposcopic guided biopsy for histopathological confirmation. Total 37 cases of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) diagnosed. Higher incidence found amongst illiterates; most common presenting complaint was white discharge per vaginum followed by postmenopausal bleeding. On examination cervical erosion was found in maximum 35% of women. A sensitivity of 75.7% and specificity of 95.1% of colposcopy with a positive predictive value of 77.7%, negative predictive value of 94.5% was obtained. To conclude Pap’s smear is ideal for mass screening as it is economical but Colposcopy is useful to localise the lesion and evaluate its extent. It helps to differentiate between inflammatory atypia and neoplasm. Our study suggested that colposcopy is definitely more sensitive and accurate than pap smear. we need to cover the target population with a more specific approach with minimum number of visits to reduce the problem of lost to follow up. Colposcopy is definitely a better modality with higher specificity and sensitivity than the conventional pap’s smear.

Keywords: Colposcope, Cervical intra epithelial neoplasia, cervical cancers, pap’s smear, prevention.