Visual inspection of cervix with acetic acid: An alternative to cytology and colposcopy in early screening of cervical cancer in low-resource setup

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer is an emotive disease, with multiple connotations. Cervical cancer is major health problem worldwide. Cervical malignancy is the commonest malignancy amongst Indian women. The life time estimated risk of cervical cancer is 2-4%. In Indian women, Cervical malignancy accounts for 26.1- 43.8% of all cancers. Cancer cervix is a preventable and curable disease provided, it is diagnosed early by screening tests and appropriate measures are taken. Aim and Objectives: 1)To compare the efficacy of Visual Inspection with Acetic acid, cytology(Pap smear) and colposcopy in detection of cervical intraepithelial lesions. 2) To assess the role of Visual Inspection with Acetic acid as an alternative to cytology (Pap smear), in screening for cervical cancer in low resource set- up. Material and Method: 200Women in 30-50 years age group who attended the gynecology department OPD, at Acharya Vinobha Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha for routine check up. Results: In the present study, the sensitivity of Pap smear came to be 90.48% and Specificity came out to be 81.40%.The sensitivity of VIA in detecting cervical cancer was 95.24% and the Specificity was 44.19%. The sensitivity of colposcopy in detecting cervical cancer was 90.48% and the Specificity was 67.44%. Conclusion: VIA as compared to Pap smear(cytology) and colposcopy can be a better screening test due to its high sensitivity, simple administration and low cost.