Abstract :
Background: The Papanicolaou (Pap) smear was introduced in 1941, became the standard screening test for cervical cancer and premalignant lesions, and is being used globally.
Objectives: To estimate the frequency of various epithelial abnormalities on Pap smear in postmenopausal women and assess their relation with parity, clinical symptoms and per speculum findings. Study design: Prospective
Materials and Methods: Pap procedure was done on 400 postmenopausal women from November 2017 to June 2019 and smears were stained and cytological interpretation was made according to the 2014 Bethesda system.
Result: Out of 97.5% satisfactory smears, 17.9%, 26.2% and 55.9% were diagnosed as of epithelial abnormalities, normal cytology and inflammatory and other benign conditions respectively. ASCUS-mean age was 45.18 years and parity of 3. Patients were either asymptomatic or presented with white discharge. Incidence among epithelial abnormalities was 31.5% with overall incidence of 5.6%. LSIL- mean age was 48.11 years and parity of 4 and presented with white discharge and lower abdominal pain. Incidence was 37.2% among epithelial abnormalities with overall incidence of 6.7%. HSIL- mean age was 58.78 years
with parity of >/=5, presented with white discharge and lower abdominal pain. Incidence among epithelial abnormalities was 27% with overall incidence of 4.8%. SCC -mean age was 58.6 years and parity of >/=5, presented with white discharge, postmenopausal bleed and something coming out of p/v. Incidence was 4.2% among epithelial abnormalities with overall incidence of 0.8%.
Conclusion: Pap smear is a simple, cheap, safe and gold standard diagnostic tool for screening postmenopausal women.
Keyword :
Epithelial abnormality, Pap smear, Postmenopausal.