Abstract
A review of our institution's Papanicolaou test records over an 11-yr period showed that liquid-based Papanicolaou tests (LBPTs) had a significantly higher frequency of diagnoses of Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-related cellular changes compared to conventional Papanicolaou smears (77/302,841, 0.026% vs. 56/376,173, 0.015%, P = 0.002). To investigate the accuracy of the diagnosis of HSV by LBPT, we performed conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on the residual samples from 258 prospectively collected LBPT and real-time PCR using a different primer set on a subset of 40 LBPT. Conventional PCR was positive in 22 of 22 cases diagnosed of HSV, 1 of 2 cases diagnosed as suspicious for HSV, and none of 234 LBPT without a cytologic HSV diagnosis. Real-time PCR was positive in 8 of 8 cases diagnosed as HSV and none of the 32 controls. We conclude that LBPT allows an increased detection of HSV that is highly accurate.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 94-103 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Diagnostic Cytopathology |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2008 |
Keywords
- Herpes simplex virus
- Liquid-based Papanicolaou tests
- PCR
- Papanicolaou tests
- Real-time PCR
- Sensitivity and specificity