A Prospective Observational Comparative Study of Liquid-Based Cytology and Pap Smears

Abstract Introduction: Liquid-Based Cytology and Pap Smears: Which is the Better Choice?" Objectives: This study aimed to compare the cytomorphological differences between Liquid-Based Cytology (LBC) and Conventional Pap Smear (CPS). Additionally, it sought to evaluate the relative advantages and limitations of both techniques. Materials: A total of 300 cases were analyzed. Conventional Pap Smear samples were collected using a cytobrush, while the cervical brush head was suspended in an LBC vial and processed using the Sure Path system. Results: The study involved participants aged 31 to 80 years, with a mean age of 54.1 years. Among the 300 cases, 280 satisfactory smears were obtained using CPS, compared to 292 using LBC. Inflammatory smears were detected in 204 cases (68%) with CPS and 219 cases (73 %) with LBC. CPS identified 9 cases of Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (LSIL) and 3 cases of High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (HSIL), while LBC identified 9 cases of LSIL, 6 cases of HSIL, and 2 cases of squamous cell carcinoma. Histopathological correlation was conducted in 20 cases, where LBC demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion: LBC outperformed CPS in terms of adequacy, background clarity, infection detection, and sensitivity and specificity for identifying LSIL and HSIL. These findings suggest that LBC is a superior method for cervical cytology.