ABSTRACT
It is well known that cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and human papilloma virus (HPV) infection are closely related to cervical cancer. The cervical cytology examination (pap-test), followed by a colposcopic examination and a biopsy are the common tools for the early detection and the establishment of diagnosis of the cervical precancerous lesions. The monitoring and surveillance of those precancerous lesions is essential for the prevention of cervical cancer and for effective patient management. Nowadays, the long-term care of patients with a chronic and/or serious disease is feasible with the use of computerized follow-up registers or through more complex information systems. Nevertheless, manual recording is still the predominant method of data collection in 'Alexandra' University Hospital and this is the case in most health services in Greece due to scarcity of resources. A 'circulating' outpatient card, where information on gynecologic cytology, colposcopy and biopsy examinations is recorded, was the basis for the development of a computerised follow-up register and information system for cervical cytology in the Department of Cytopathology.
Subject(s)
Information Systems , Medical Records Systems, Computerized , Precancerous Conditions/prevention & control , Registries , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/prevention & control , Biopsy , Colposcopy , Feasibility Studies , Female , Forms and Records Control , Greece , Hospital Records , Hospitals, University , Humans , Long-Term Care , Papillomaviridae , Papillomavirus Infections/prevention & control , Patient Care Planning , Population Surveillance , Software Design , Tumor Virus Infections/prevention & control , Vaginal Smears , Uterine Cervical Dysplasia/prevention & controlABSTRACT
The secular trends in the detection rates for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive carcinoma were evaluated for a population lacking a mass screening program. For the period from 1980 through 1987, 185,659 Papanicolaou smears from 176,511 women were examined. The average annual age-adjusted detection rate for invasive cervical cancer declined from 3.7 x 10(-3) in 1980 to 1.4 x 10(-3) in 1987. The rate of cytologic findings consistent with CIN 3 and verified by histology increased from 0.7 x 10(-3) to 2.6 x 10(-3), and the rate of findings consistent with CIN 1 and CIN 2 increased from 4.3 x 10(-3) to 7.2 x 10(-3). The yield of Papanicolaou smear diagnoses consistent with CIN 3 was substantial (more than one case per 1,000) for women up to 60 years old, but was insignificant for older women.
