ASCCP Patient Management Guidelines: Pap Test Specimen Adequacy and Quality Indicators.
OBJECTIVE
To provide management guidelines according to Pap test specimen adequacy based on literature review and expert opinion.


METHODS
A task force named by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology conducted a literature review and discussed appropriate management. The steering committee of the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology and other experts reviewed the guidelines.


RESULTS
The guidelines recommend a repeat Pap test in 12 months for most women who are 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 management for unsatisfactory Pap tests is a repeat Pap test within a short interval of 2 to 4 months.


CONCLUSIONS
The management guidelines will help promote optimal and uniform follow-up of women's Pap tests, according to Pap test specimen adequacy.
Davey
Diane D
DD
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. ddavey@uky.edu
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