ASCCP patient management guidelines: Pap test specimen adequacy and quality indicators.
Our objective was to provide management guidelines according to Papanicolaou (Pap) test specimen adequacy based on literature review and expert opinion. A task force named by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) conducted a literature review and discussed appropriate management. The Steering Committee of the ASCCP and other experts reviewed the guidelines. The guidelines recommend a repeated Pap test in 12 months for most women undergoing routine annual/biennial screening if the current Pap test is negative but either lacks an endocervical/ transformation zone component or is partially obscured. Indications for considering an earlier repeat are also provided. The preferred managementfor unsatisfactory Pap tests is a repeated Pap test within a short interval of 2 to 4 months. The management guidelines will help promote optimal and uniform follow-up of women according to Pap test specimen adequacy.
Davey
Diane D
DD
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA.
Austin
R Marshall
RM
Birdsong
George
G
Buck
Henry W
HW
Cox
J Thomas
JT
Darragh
Teresa M
TM
Elgert
Paul A
PA
Hanson
Vivien
V
Henry
Michael R
MR
Waldman
Jeffrey
J
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000592:standards*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000592:standards*