Abstract
Objective : We comparatively evaluated the relative efficiency rates of various gynecological sampling devices (cotton swab, cytopic, spatula, brush) for the detection of atypical cells in pap smears.
Study Design : We examined a total of 29,680 gynecological smears obtained from several hospitals and local clinics over a 9-month period (2010), and for each sampling device, we calculated the absolute frequencies of endocervical and atypical cells and their percentages relative to the total sample cellularity.
Results : The frequency of detection of atypical cells was 3.4% (663/19,729) for cotton swab, 6.0% (34/570) for cytopick and 4.5% (23/507) for spatula, but significantly higher, at 8.0% (240/2997) for brush, which was the best score among the tested devices. Atypical cells were more frequently found in smears containing endocervical cells than in smears lacking endocervical cells.
Conclusion : Better scores were obtained for endocervical samples obtained using the brush than for the samples obtained using any other sampling devices, both in terms of the number of endocervical cells and the number of atypical cells. We recommend use of the endocervical brush in view of standardization of endocervical sampling in our country.
