The feasibility of a one-stop colposcopy clinic in the management of womenwith low grade smear abnormalities: a prospective study

Objectives: To assess the feasibility of a one-stop colposcopy clinic for t he management of women with low-grade smear abnormalities. Secondly, to det ermine whether the approach of immediate information of biopsy results comb ined with treatment if indicated helps to reduce patient anxiety and improv e overall patient satisfaction with the colposcopy process. Design: Prospec tive study following the introduction of a "one-stop" process for the manag ement of women with low grade smear abnormalities. Subjects: First 118 wome n managed in a "one-stop" clinic during an 8-month period. Methods: Assessm ent of patient anxiety via self-completed questionnaires and comparison of anxiety scores with a control group managed via a standard clinic. Results: The median waiting time for results in the one-stop clinic was 120 min (ra nge: 100-165). All women in both groups felt anxious at the time or the cli nic visit. However, after I week the majority of patients managed via the o ne-stop process felt slight anxiety only (P = 0.0001) as opposed to those p atients in the control group who remained anxious (P = NS). In addition, al l women said they would prefer the one-stop approach for further smear abno rmalities if a further colposcopic examination was warranted. Conclusion: A one-stop colposcopy clinic is feasible for the management of women with lo w-grade smear abnormalities. In addition, it delivers a quality service, op timises patient management, reduces anxiety and is the patient's choice. (C ) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.