Evaluation of cytopathological screening results and risk factors of women who underwent Pap smear in a maternity school in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.

Papanicolaou test (Pap smear) is the standard screening test of preneoplastic lesions and cervical cancer. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine cervical cancer screening results and risk factors such as age, reason for the exam, the epithelia detected in the sample, microbiota, and signs of sexually transmitted infection (STIs) of women in a maternity school in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, data of 353 women who underwent Pap smear were retrieved between April 2016 and January 2017 at the Federal University of Ceara. RESULTS Of all Pap smear samples retrieved, 54.1% (191/353) had glandular epithelium and 40.2% (142/353) had metaplastic epithelium. After statistical analyses adjusted for the final model, age ≥51 years (odds ratio [OR] = 3.47) and signs of STIs (OR = 4.95) remained as risk factors. CONCLUSIONS The diagnosis of high-grade lesions and carcinomas in patients older than 50 years indicates a deficiency in the cervical screening. Women with signs and symptoms of STI and candidiasis sought medical service more frequently than asymptomatic women, and presence of these signs and symptoms contribute to the diagnosis of cervical cancer. We highlight the importance of obtaining a correct smear sampling to allow prompt detection of all preneoplastic lesions; moreover, the implementation of HPV vaccination and an efficient routine Pap screening are necessary in low-resource settings.