ABSTRACT
To estimate the frequency of abnormal Pap smear and assessment of risk factors for cervical cancer in an out-patient clinic of a tertiary care hospital. All married female patients attending the preventive health check up [family medicine] clinics, The Aga Khan University Hospital. Karachi from December 2004 to April 2005 for general checkups and had Pap smear after informed consent, were included. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to all participants and double entered in EPIDATA and analyzed in SPSS. Frequencies of all variables were generated. Means with standard deviations and ranges were also calculated for quantitative variables. A total of 103 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 45.8 +/- 10.7 years. Half of the study population were menstruating at the time of interview, Mean age at marriage was 21.4 +/- 4.57 years. Mean age at first pregnancy was 22.6 +/- 4.4 years. A minority of husbands [2.9%] were uncircumcised. About one third [30.8%] of patients had at least four full term deliveries while the mean number of deliveries were 3.3 +/- 2.0 years. More than one third [36.9%] were practicing contraception, with 5% using oral contraceptive pills and the rest using barrier methods. About one third of the women complained about vaginal discharge with foul smell, dysuria and dyspareunia in most patients. About two-third [63.1%] had at least one Pap smear in the past. None had any dysplasia or cancer. Reports of Pap smear findings showed that 16.5% patients had atrophic vaginitis, 37.9% had infective bacillary background diagnosed on histopathology and the rest were reported normal. Time most frequent abnormality found in Pap smear study was infective bacillary back ground. None of the patients had any pre-cancerous or active cervical cancer. The study was limited by small sample size and choice of Pap smear by the elite class population with self referral for general health checkup