Comparison of the Cytobrush and cotton swabs in sampling cervical cells for filter in situ hybridization detection of human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 DNA.

The Cytobrush was compared with the cotton swab for collecting samples used to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 DNA by filter in situ hybridization. The study design entailed collecting two endocervical and one vaginal fornix sample from each of 200 women admitted to a colposcopy clinic. No difference was found in the HPV positivity rates in samples obtained with the two collection instruments. There was good agreement (91.5%) in the detection of viral DNA between the first and second endocervical samples; however, 15% of the patients with positive samples had detectable DNA in their second sample only. Significantly fewer samples from the fornix contained detectable HPV-16 or HPV-18 DNA than did endocervical samples.