title: Which cervical sampler? A comparison of four methods.
abstract: Four cytology sampling methods were compared in 1063 patients referred for colposcopy with a recent abnormal smear. A dyskaryotic smear of any grade was considered a positive result, though comparisons were limited to cases with a subsequent biopsy confirming CINII or III. There were no differences between the abilities of any of the four methods to detect higher grades of CIN (chi (2)3 = 4.603, P > 0.20). The presence or absence of endocervical cells in a smear was not significantly associated with any variation in success rate (chi (2)1 = 0.959, P > 0.30). The joint analysis of the four methods and the presence/absence of endocervical cells also showed no significant effects (chi (2)7 = 12.768, 0.1 > P > 0.05). In the latter analysis the trend towards a conventional level of significance was accounted for by the Aylesbury spatula giving a relatively high success rate when endocervical cells were present. The suggestion of advantage for the Aylesbury spatula merits further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Leeds General Infirmary, UK.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Metcalf
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Moloney
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Peel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baines
mesh_terms: D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods*