The combined use of cytology and colposcopy in enhancing diagnostic accuracy in preclinical lesions of the uterine cervix.

In an attempt to evaluate the accuracy of cytologic and colposcopic findings (alone and in combination) in detecting preclinical lesions of the uterine cervix, diagnoses made in 170 consecutive patients referred for colposcopic examination at Nassau Hospital because of an abnormal Papanicolaou smear were reviewed. We found that of the investigative methods available prior to biopsy, a combined cytologic and colposcopic evaluation is preferred since it is highly accurate in predicting the degree of severity of a lesion (84.6% of all cases reviewed) and, in our experience, eliminates the problem of false negatives, which are encountered when either method is used to the exclusion of the other.