title: Cervical smear abnormalities in the United Arab Emirates: a pilot study in the Arabian Gulf.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To gather epidemiologic data on cervical abnormalities and make recommendations pertaining to a national cervical screening policy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey of patients and physicians in the UAE with regard to cervical cytology was carried out. Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of a group of female primary care physicians on cervical cytology were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Pap smears and Chlamydia testing were offered to women attending selected primary care centers and secondary health care facilities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results of Chlamydia prevalence and KAP were published elsewhere; this report addresses the cytologic aspects of this study. There were 2,013 smears collected from primary health centers and 2,042 from secondary care. The overall rate of cervical screening among women in this survey was 85.5% in primary care and 77% in secondary care. The proportion of unsatisfactory smears was < 5%. The prevalence of cervical abnormalities according to the Bethesda System 2001 was 3.6%. There were 9 (primary care) and 21 (secondary care) cases of low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSILs), for a prevalence of 0.77%. There were 4 primary care and 17 secondary care cases of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), for a prevalence of 0.54%. The combined prevalence for LSIL and HSIL is 1.32%. There were 3 cases of glandular abnormalities. The atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance/SIL ratio was 1.71. No cases of squamous cell carcinoma were detected. No tissue follow-up information is available. The prevalence of cervical abnormalities is low in the UAE. We first recommend the institution of a more organized approach to opportunistic screening in the UAE with appropriate clinical follow-up rather than the immediate launch of a cervical mass screening program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 17666, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. saad.ghazal_aswad@uaeu.ac.ae
authors.forename: Saad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghazal-Aswad
authors.forename: Husnia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gargash
authors.forename: Padmanabhan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Badrinath
authors.forename: Mouza A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Al-Sharhan
authors.forename: Islam
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sidky
authors.forename: Nawal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.forename: Norman H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014479:United Arab Emirates / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology