Pap test

NEW YORK, August 22 (Praxis Press). The Pap test has dramatically reduced cervical cancer mortality in the United States, but this test's mean sensitivity for cervical abnormalities may be as low as 58% in the general screening setting. Taylor and colleagues constructed a model to compare the costs and health outcomes associated with annual conventional Pap tests and with biennial Pap tests plus speculoscopy (PPS). For hypothetical women studied between ages 18 and 65 years, biennial PPS screening was associated with lower probabilities of squamous intraepithelial lesions, cervical cancer, and death from cervical cancer. Biennial PPS screening added 12 days to a woman's life expectancy. The total direct medical costs ($1419) and combined medical costs ($2185) associated with PPS screening were less than the corresponding total direct medical costs ($1489) and combined medical costs ($3179) associated with Pap screening. The cost savings and improved patient outcomes were also...