Comparison of cervical cancer screening results among public and private services in Brazil

Objective To compare the frequency of cervical smear test results between women seen in private and public health services in a medium-sized city in Brazil. Methods This was an observational analytical study analyzing cervical cytologic results over 16 years. Public data were collected from the Brazilian National Health System, and private refers to those collected at private clinics. Results The overall frequency of unsatisfactory/rejected results was higher in public service examinations (odds ratio [OR] 0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04-0.06). The same occurred for atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.85-0.95) and atypical squamous cells cannot exclude high grade intraepithelial lesions (ASC-H) (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.47-0.64) categories. For low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, the frequency was higher among women from private services (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.24-1.55). Among women aged 25-64 years, the frequency of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions was higher among women seen in the public service (OR 0.81; 95% CI 0.66-0.99). Conclusion Brazilian public services showed higher frequencies of unsatisfactory/rejected results and higher rates of ASC-US and ASC-H. Focusing on pre-analytical phases and establishing an internal quality control program can help improve these rates even though national protocols guide them.

Automated summary

This study compared the frequency of cervical smear test results between women in private and public health services in a medium-sized city in Brazil. It found that public services had higher rates of unsatisfactory/rejected results, ASC-US, and ASC-H, while private services had a higher frequency of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Among women aged 25-64, the frequency of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions was higher in public services.