Adequabilidade dos esfregaços cervicais frente aos principais fatores pré-laboratoriais que podem interferir na análise do exame citopatológico. / Adequacy of cervical smears before the main factors pre-lab that can interfere with the analysis of cervical screening.
AUTOR(ES)
Marcelo Rodrigues Martins
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO
2009
RESUMO
Background: Cervical cancer in Brazil has one of the highest incidence rates. Screening this neoplasia is effective when a cytopathological test stained by Papanicolaou method is performed. However, the quality of cytopathological samples directly influences the screening effectiveness. Eventhough, this method has been criticized due to the high rates of false-negative, due to collection errors, routine scrutiny and the interpretation of cytological changes. Amongst the collection errors, the absence of endocervical cells and bad fixation are highlighted as one of the main concerns. Objectives: to assess the profile of professionals in charge of collecting cytopathological samples as well as verify whether the experience time and the working conditions are associated with sample adequability, verify the main difficulties and easiness reported by the professionals regarding cervical smears collection by using different fixation techniques, verify which fixation technique shows better performance concerning samples adequability and whether the fixation technique influences the detection of precursory injuries; verify the frequency of satisfactory cervical smears, the factors which could partially make samples obscure or make them unsatistactory for the analysis, as well as verify the presence or absence of transformation zone, and whether the presence of these cells is associated with the detection of cervical cancer precursory injuries. Methodology: 19 professionals -doctors and nurses- in charge of collecting cytopathological samples took part in this study. 1,354 cytopathological smears were included in this study, which were divided into three groups, submitted to different fixation techniques and distributed in the following manner: first group: 414 smears fixed with alcohol 95%; second group: 445 fixed with dropping fixation (alcohol 95% + polyethylene glycol) and third group: 495 fixed with spray (alcohol 95% + polyethylene glycol). The cervical material collected was referred to the cytology sector at the Rômulo Rocha Clinical Analyses Center and submitted to scrutiny routine regardless to the fixation technique. The cytopathological outcomes were classified in accordance with Brazilian Nomenclature for Cervical Diagnoses. At the end of the study, a questionnaire was applied to the professionals in which they reported difficulties and easiness concerning the use of different techniques. Data was inserted and processed in the Epi Info 3.3.2 software, and for statistic analysis we used the SAS 9.1.3 software. Outcomes: from the 19 professionals in charge of cytopathological screening 16 (84.2%) are nurses and 3 (15.8%) are doctors. From the 19 professionals in charge of collection, 58% pointed the spray technique as of very easy handling. In the limited smears the most frequent obscuring factor was leukocyte infiltration followed by dissecation, whereas for the unsatisfactory the majority was of dissecation followed by hypocellular material. Conclusions: this study showed that spray fixation technique had the worst performance concerning adequability of sample when compared to alcohol and drops, and that the professionals considered the spray fixation as of easier handling. There was no association between the precursory injuries diagnosis and the fixation technique used. The experience time and the Abstract proper collection environment influenced the quality of cervical material samples and the alcohol 95% fixation technique had the highest rate of difficulty reported, when compared to the drop and spray fixation. We also observed that the transformation zone representation was significant both for the most severe and less severe cervical cancer precursory injuries.
ASSUNTO(S)
1.controle do câncer de colo do útero 2. adequabilidade dos esfregaços cervicais 3. coleta dos exames citopatológicos 4. técnicas de fixação cytopathological test collection coleta dos exames citopatológicos técnicas de fixação cervical smears adequability clinica medica fixation techniques adequabilidade dos esfregaços cervicais cervical cancer câncer de colo do útero
