title: Necessity for endocervical curettage in elderly women undergoing colposcopy.
abstract: A retrospective study of 164 women aged 45 and older undergoing colposcopy for abnormal Papanicolaou smears showed that 49% had adequate colposcopy and 51%, inadequate colposcopy. Of those with adequate colposcopy, 23% had positive endocervical curettage (ECC). That finding required conization, which detected one case of microinvasive and two of invasive cervical carcinoma. Of those with inadequate colposcopy, 64% had positive ECC. All patients with inadequate colposcopy underwent conization, which detected 4 cases of microinvasive and 11 of invasive carcinoma. Therefore, women with inadequate colposcopy had a higher risk of invasive disease. ECC is a necessary step in the colposcopic evaluation of elderly women.
authors: Department of Family Practice, St. Luke Hospital, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
authors: T A
authors: TA
authors: Dinh
authors: T V
authors: TV
authors: Dinh
authors: E V
authors: EV
authors: Hannigan
authors: R B
authors: RB
authors: Yandell
authors: E A
authors: EA
authors: Dillard
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000473:pathology*; D003127:Colposcopy; D003475:Curettage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000473:pathology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears