RESUMEN
Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most common female reproductive tract malignancies with high morbidity and mortality most especially in the developing countries. Our purpose of this study is to determine the pattern of cervical smear and also to determine the effect of socio-demographic factors on the pattern of cervical cytology among women attending gynaecological clinic in Nnewi, Southeast Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional prospective study was conducted at Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital, (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra state, in South East Nigeria from December 2007–July 2008. Result: Ninety six (68.6%) of the women had normal cervical smear while forty one (29.3%) had abnormal cervical smear. The proportion of unsatisfactory smear was 2.1%. The number and rates of abnormal cervical smear was further sub-classified as LSIL (25 cases, 17.9%), HSIL (12 cases, 8.6%), ASC-US (3 cases, 2.1%) and glandularintraepithelial lesion (1 case, 0.7%). No case of squamous cell carcinoma was detected. Conclusion: The study shows that various patterns of abnormal cytology were found among our women and the prevalence of this abnormal smear is high. these findings underscore the need for massive and sustained reproductive health education and establishment of cervical cancer screening centres.
RESUMEN
Background: Cervical cancer is a major cause of death in the developing world. This high fatality is due to late presentation. It is believed that widespread screening of women for precursor lesion and early detection of the invasive disease can lead to a reduction in cervical cancer and cervical cancer deaths. This study assesses the knowledge; attitude and practice of cervical cancer among sexually active women in Onitsha Southeast Nigeria. Methods: Three major layouts in Onitsha were chosen as the areas of study. In these areas; 5 sites each where major economic activities take place were chosen for the distribution of the questionnaire. A total of 400 pretested questionnaires were administered to women who gave their verbal consent to participate in this study. The data were analyzed using SPSS package for windows version 11.0. Results: The result showed that 76(26.85) of the respondents were aware of cervical cancer screening. Thirty six (47.4) of the aware group knew that the test was a screening test for cervical cancer. There was significant association between the educational status and the knowledge of Pap test but there was no significant association between the educational status and the utilization of the Pap test. Conclusion: This study shows that there is poor awareness and utilization of cervical screening test in our environment. There is therefore an urgent need to establish an aggressive and sustainable awareness campaign on the preventive nature of cervical cancer and further establish an organized cancer screening programme