AEGiS-GMHC: Obtaining Optimal Results from Pap Smears

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Obtaining Optimal Results from Pap Smears

Gay Men's Health Crisis "Treatment Issues" Vol. 8, No. 11 - December 1994

The accuracy of Pap smears varies greatly from one clinical setting to another. Risa Denenberg, who performs hundreds of the tests per year, says patients and clinicians should remember the following:

* The best smears are obtained mid-cycle.

* Smears taken during a period or when bleeding for any other reason are unacceptable.

* Patients should not douche, use tampons or have sexual intercourse for 48 hours before a Pap smear.

* Pap smears require two tissue samples. First, clinicians should trace out the squamocolumnar junction (where the inner, more tender and outer, plate-like cervical linings meet) and sample it with a cervical spatula.

* Clinicians also need to obtain an endocervical (inner cervix) sample with a cotton swab or narrow "cytobrush."

* Lubricants interfere with obtaining proper tissue samples.

* As a preservative measure, it is necessary to apply fixative within ten seconds after spreading samples on microscope slides.

* Proper labeling of slides is the clinician's responsibility.

* Patients and clinicians should only accept Pap smear results from a lab that uses the standardized Bethesda system to report results.

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