The Pap smear: take two.

The results of two "pancervical" Pap smears taken sequentially at the same sitting were evaluated on 2,823 patients in a Family Planning Program as part of a national sample to evaluate abnormal cervical cytology and method of contraception. It was found that obtaining two smears increased the detection of abnormal cytology in these patients by 86 per cent. Every group participating in this national study found a large increase in sensitivity, though not to the degree noted in our population. The importance of this result for case-finding and subsequent rescreening procedures is evident, and emphasizes that the single "pancervical" Pap smear is an insensitive procedure for detecting abnormal cervical cytology.