[Management of post-coital bleeding: should all women be referred?]

Post-coital bleeding (PCB) is a frequent occurrence in sexually active women. In most cases, bleeding is associated with mild cervical pathology requiring no further specialist advice. In rare cases though, PCB can be the first sign of cervical cancer, in early or advanced stage, and diagnosis and treatment should not be delayed. In the absence of current consensus, we propose to standardize the management of postcoital bleeding through the elaboration of a flow chart based primarily on medical history and a physical examination. The aim is to enable a better identification of patients at risk for cervical cancer and thereby enabling rapid referral to a specialized center.