THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MILD SQUAMOUS ATYPIA ON CYTOLOGY

Between January, 1991 and February, 1993 inclusive, 396 Papanicolaou s mears were reported to show Mild Squamous Atypia with or without Human Papilloma Virus (MSA +/- HPV). All women with MSA +/- HPV smears were routinely recalled for colposcopy. To determine the significance of M SA +/- HPV on routine smear screening, the records of all patients wer e reviewed. Three hundred and thirty-seven women (85.1%) attended the colposcopy clinic and are the subjects analyzed for this report. The r emaining 59 (14.9%) failed to attend. Intraepithelial neoplasia was fo und in 61 patients (18.1%), of whom 27 (8.0%) had a high grade lesion (CIN 2 or 3 or CIN 2). No patient had invasive cancer of the cervix. O nly 1 of the 45 pregnant women had a significant lesion. It is conclud ed that all asymptomatic women with MSA +/- HPV on cervical smear may be managed in accordance with the current NH and MRC recommendations ( 1) and have a repeat smear in 6 months and colposcopy if the abnormali ty persists at 12 months.