THE VALUE OF PRIMARY COLPOSCOPY IN GENITOURINARY MEDICINE - A 6 YEAR REVIEW

Objective-To evaluate the effectiveness of primary colposcopy in the g enitourinary medicine setting by comparing the cervical cytology and p unch biopsy results for women identified as having an abnormal cervica l transformation zone. Method-A retrospective audit of six years' find ings in primary colposcopy was carried out. The punch biopsy findings of 1338 women were compared with their last cervical cytology results. A small sample of biopsies were subjected to in situ hybridisation fo r human papilloma virus types 6, 11, 16, 18 and cytomegalovirus. Resul ts-The tabulated results demonstrated the variability between histolog y and cytology. This was explored with reference to other studies. The viral typing showed the dominance of low oncogenic risk human papillo ma virus types. Conclusion-The findings are discussed against the over all concept of sexual health. Primary colposcopy facilitates empowerme nt of the patient and her partner through the opportunity for demonstr ation and explanation of disease processes and options for management. Experience and expertise gathered in six years of primary colposcopy confirm the value of primary colposcopy not only in improved diagnosis and management but also in teaching, audit and research.