EFFICACY OF EXFOLIATIVE CYTOLOGY COMPARED WITH CERVICAL CULTURE FOR THE DETECTION OF CERVICOVAGINAL INFECTIONS

• DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1593532318072

• Palavras-chave: infections of the genital system, Papanicolaou test, cervical culture.

• Keywords: infections of the genital system, Papanicolaou test, cervical culture.

• Abstract:

  The vaginal microbiota is a set of microorganisms that inhabit it naturally. An alteration in the resident flora can lead to infection, which is the main cause of gynecological consultation in women of reproductive age. Pap smear cytology, in addition to allowing the detection of cellular abnormalities associated with increased risk of developing cervical cancer, also allows the detection of cervicovaginal infections. In order to find out the concordance of exfoliative cytology by Papanicolaou staining in the detection of cervicovaginal infections compared with cervical culture, 229 sexually active women between the ages of 19 and 67 were voluntarily recruited and informed, after a questionnaire of sociodemographic and gynecologic and obstetric data. sample was taken for Papanicolaou examination and culture of cervicovaginal exudate. An average age of 37.6 years was found, the prevalence of infection by Papanicolaou was 52% and by vaginal culture of 54.6%, in both methods the most frequent infection was bacterial vaginosis due to Gardnerella vaginalis.  No cases of trichomoniasis were found. The comparison of the diagnostic methods indicates a kappa coefficient of 0.43 (p=0.001), which indicates a statistically significant moderate concordance of the methods when diagnosing a cervicovaginal infection.