Pap smear accuracy for the diagnosis of cervical precancerous lesions

Abstract

This cross-sectional descriptive study, aimed at accessing the accuracy of Pap smear in diagnosing cervical precancerous lesions, was carried out between 3 January and 30 April 2017. All women screened for cervical dysplasia by means of Pap smear with biopsy done for confirmation were subsequently recruited. Data were analysed using SPSS 20.0. A total of 231 women were screened for cervical dysplasia using Pap smear with 75 biopsies performed. Cervical dysplasia was noticed in 54 cases. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values of Pap smear were 55.5%, 75%, 88.2% and 33.3%, respectively. The sensitivity of Pap smear remains low. Therefore, biopsy should be done in cases of macroscopic cervical architectural changes irrespective of the result of the Pap smear. Moreover, to reduce the number of women with cervical precancerous lesions, the government should make available financial resources to set up HPV vaccination programmes rather than screening programmes.

Keywords: Cervical precancerous lesions; Pap smear; negative predictive value; positive predictive value; sensitivity; specificity.