RESUMO
Background: An atypical cervical smear may represent a wide variety of lesions, from banal diseases to invasive neoplastic lesions. Aim: To study the evolution of atypical cervical smears in a highly controlled women population. Material and methods: A retrospective analysis of 117 women with atypical cervical smears, diagnosed between 1985 and 1994, was performed at the institutional hospital of a mining corporationin Chile. Results: Patients age ranged from 25 to 65 years. Six percent of atypical cervical smears were associated to Papillomavirus infection and 25 percent to unspecific infectious agents. In the second smear, during follow up, 22.2 percent of women had some degree of squamous intraepithelial lesion or sign of Papillomavirus infection. A cervical biopsy was performed to 69 women, confirming the presence of a squamous intraepithelial neoplasia or sign of Papillomavirus infection in 38.4 percent of them. Only one patient had microinvasion. Conclusions: All patients with atypical gynecological cervical smears should be closely followed to as certain the diagnosis