Role of colposcopy in the diagnosis and outpatient treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

One hundred and seventy nine women with abnormal smears referred for colposcopy to the Samaritan Hospital were studied. After confirming CIN on repeat smear, colposcopy and histology, cone biopsy was carried out. One hundred and twenty one patients (68%) had treatment either with electrical loop diathermy under local anaesthesia (105 patients, 59%) or laser excision of transformation zone under general anaesthesia as a day case (16 patients, 9%). Cone biopsy was done in 121 patients (32%). We conclude that colposcopy is a valuable tool in combination with cytology and histology for diagnosis and delineating the extent of CIN, thus avoiding unnecessary cone biopsies particularly in women of child bearing age. The majority of patients were treated by an outpatient procedure, which is easy to learn, safe, effective and inexpensive.