Evaluation of pre-malignant cervical lesions in females presenting with abnormal pelvic complaints

To evaluate premalignant cervical lesions by using Papanicolaou smears in females presenting with abnormal pelvic complaints.

The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from June to November 2013 at the Department of Histopathology, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, and comprised female patients aged 25-70 years presenting with abnormal pelvic complaints with no cause in the uterus checked through ultrasonography who were undergoing cervical Papanicolaou smear. The smears were spray-fixed and placed in 95% reagent alcohol and was then stained with haematoxylin and eosin stain. The cytological examination was carried out under light microscope. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis.

There were 210 women with a mean age of 39.51±8.32 years. Vaginal discharge was present in 89(42.4%) women; postcoital bleeding in 12(5.7%), and intermenstrual bleeding was present in 21(10%) women. Dyspareunia was present in 33(15.7%) women, and pelvic pain in 60(28.6%). Overall, premalignant cervical cancer was noted in 17(8.1%) patients. Atypical squamous cells of unknown significance was present in 5(2.4%) women, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) in 8(3.8%), and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in 4(1.9%) patients of cervical cancer.

The frequency of premalignant cervical lesions in symptomatic patients was high enough to highlight the importance of early detection of cervical cancer.