Cervical screening Flashcards
When is a patient first contacted for their first cervical smear?
they receive correspondence at the age of 24.5, but their first smear is at 25 years of age
How often is a smear test performed for the ages 25-49?
Every 3 years
How often is a cervical smear performed for women between 50-64?
Every 5 years
How often are women with HIV screened?
Every year
What is the name of pre-malignant changes to cervical epithelial cells?
Dyskaryosis (this is detected on smear)
What is colposcopy used to detect?
(DYSPLASIA) Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia
What does CIN I mean?
mild dysplasia, affecting 1/3 the thickness of the epithelial layer, likely to return to normal without treatment
What does CIN II mean?
moderate dysplasia, affecting 2/3 the thickness of the epithelial layer, likely to progress to cancer if untreated
What does CIN III mean?
severe dysplasia, very likely to progress to cancer if untreated
CIN III is sometimes called cervical carcinoma in situ
If a patient has an “inadequate sample” as a smear result, what happens next?
repeat the smear after at least 3 months
If the patient is HPV negative, what happens?
Continue with routine screening i.e. either every 3 years or 5
HPV positive with normal cytology - what happens next?
Repeat HPV test after 12 months
HPV positive with abnormal cytology
Refer for colposcopy
When a cervical smear test goes to the lab, what is it tested for?
- samples are initially tested for high-risk HPV before the cells are examined.
- If the HPV test is negative (the person does not have HPV), the cells are not examined, the smear is considered negative, and the woman is returned to the routine screening program.
- If the cells are HPV positive, the cells are then analysed to see if they have any changes e.g. dyskaryosis
What happens if the sample is inadequate?
Repeat the sample in 3 months
If there are 2 conseq. inadequate samples, refer for colposcopy
