Screening for Cervical Cancer in Female Housekeeping Staff by Pap Smear: Our Experience from A Tertiary Care Centre in A Rural Region of Karnataka, India

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer of cervix uteri is the second most common cancer amongst women in India. It consists of a long preinvasive stage making it a potentially preventable disease. Our intent is to set stage for early cancer detection by screening our hospital housing keeping females. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted from May to October 2022 in the departments of pathology and OBG at a rurally located tertiary care hospital affiliated to a teaching Medical Institute. Primary objective was to screen for cervical cancer in female housekeeping staff by determining the cervical cytology findings in Pap smears as per the 2014 Bethesda Classification of cervical cytology (2014). Secondary objective was to assess awareness about Pap smear testing. Results: Out of the eighty female housekeeping staff forty four were included in the study.A questionnaire was given to assess awareness followed by Pap smear test. Inflammatory smears (47.7% ) were most common followed by Bacterial vaginosis (15.9%).and Trichomonas Vaginalis infestation (9.1%).One case of ASCU-S was detected which was followed up with a cervical biopsy to rule out malignancy. Though 65.5% had heard about cervical cancer, 84.1% were not acquainted with pap smears. Conclusion: Screening by Pap smear helped in detecting potentially pre- cancerous lesions and infections enabling timely treatment. Lack of awareness has limited the utilization of Pap smear especially in the rural areas even in women working inside healthcare premises reflects the need for creating awareness and encouraging robust participation in screening programmes. Keywords: Cancer, Cervix, Cytology, Pap Smear, Screening