title: Detection of endocervical component by PAPNET system on negative cervical smears.
abstract: The presence of endocervical component (ECs) on cervical smears is considered essential for determining the adequacy of the Pap smear. The absence of an endocervical component in a negative smear suggests that a repeat Pap smear should be taken. We evaluated 635 manually screened negative cervical smears with a documented endocervical component. On PAPNET review, these cases were scrutinized for endocervical cells, metaplastic squamous cells (MSQ), or both. One-hundred and thirty-eight cases (22%), adequate manually, showed no ECs or MSQs by PAPNET. Twenty-three additional cases with both ECs and MSQ on manual, showed only MSQ by PAPNET, while another 30 cases (5%) with MSQ manually were totally missed by PAPNET. The results of this analysis shows that the endocervical component (ECs, MSQ) is missed by PAPNET in 27% of the cases. Without further improvement, this may pose the greatest deterrent for PAPNET as a primary screening instrument.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cytopathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235-9072, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ashfaq
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Solares
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Saboorian
mesh_terms: D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014626:Vaginal Smears
chemical_list: D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic