Colposcopy in a family practice residency. The first 200 cases

The incidence of abnormal Papanicolaou smears has increased dramatically in the last decade. Many family physicians now find it necessary to perform colposcopies themselves to provide optimal care for their patients. There is little literature that evaluates the performance of this procedure by family physicians.

The findings of the first 200 colposcopies performed in a community hospital-based family practice residency program are reported. Descriptive data were prospectively gathered between August 1987 and December 1989.

The median age of the patients was 25 years, the median number of sexual partners was three, and the median age at the time of first sexual intercourse was 17 years. The majority had colposcopy performed because of a class III Papanicolaou smear (108 [54%]). Twenty-five (12.5%) were pregnant at the time of colposcopy; for this reason a biopsy was not performed on 19 of the patients. An average of three distinct cervical lesions were seen in each patient. The most frequent histologic finding was some degree of dysplasia (116 of 181 biopsied [64%]). Twenty-two cases of severe dysplasia (carcinoma in situ) were found. However, no cases of invasive carcinoma were found.

High-quality colposcopy and effective treatment with appropriate referral can be done at the primary care level for most patients. Many patients failed to return for follow-up evaluation after treatment, indicating the need for better tracking of patients.