INFLAMMATORY SIGNS IN WET SMEAR AND PAP-SMEAR COMPARED WITH THE HISTOPATHOLOGY FROM THE FEMALE LOWER GENITAL-TRACT

In order to define the relationship between various criteria of female lower genital tract inflammation, we examined wet smears, cervical sm ears and biopsies from 131 patients. The presence of clue cells in reh ydrated dry smears showed a positive correlation to the presence of cl ue cells in Papanicolaou stained smears, and to some extent with cytol ogical evidence of inflammation (Kappa 0.48). Cytological inflammatory findings correlated well with the presence of clue cells in rehydrate d dry smears, but signs of inflammation diagnosed by histopathology di d not correspond to findings in cytological smears, probably because t hese methods reveal inflammation at different sites.