Experience with a new cervical smear sampling device

AR Chang
Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong

The cervical smear is effective in detecting the precursor lesions of cervical cancer. With appropriate treatment invasive carcinoma may be prevented. For a smear to have maximum diagnostic value, it must contain sufficient numbers of well-preserved cells from the transformation zone of the cervix where most malignancies develop. A major cause of a non-diagnostic smear is poor sampling. A new sampling device, the Cervex-Brush, has been touted as being capable of producing a superior specimen compared with the modified Ayre�s spatula, which is the most widely used cervical sampler in Hong Kong. When evaluated on 500 women presenting for a smear at a community cervical screening clinic, the Cervex-Brush was found to produce a good quality sample as judged by the presence of endocervical and/or metaplastic cells, lack of blood, and the thickness of the cell sample. In the drive to ensure that cervical smears are of the highest quality, the Cervex-Brush is worthy of further evaluation for routine use. Although it is significantly more expensive, the extra costs could be offset by the substantial savings that can accrue from having a smaller number of substandard samples and the need to repeat smears.

Hong Kong Med J 1996;2:248-52

Key words: Cervical smear; Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; Cytodiagnosis