Microcolpohysteroscopy compared with colposcopy in the evaluation of abnormal cervical cytology.

Microcolpohysteroscopy allows one to observe the cervix and endocervix at magnifications of 1:1-1:150. More important, it permits examination of the squamocolumnar junction when it is obscured within the endocervix. This preliminary report compares standard colposcopy with a microcolpohysteroscopy technique in 65 patients with abnormal Papanicolaou smears. Using contact microcolpohysteroscopy, the clinician can map out geographically entire cervical intraepithelial neoplastic lesions; locate correctly the epicenter of most lesions; and in cases of inadequate colposcopy, visualize the squamocolumnar junction within the cervix. Microcolpohysteroscopy was equivalent to traditional colposcopy in detecting abnormal histology. This technique predicted lesions with viral cytopathic effects, which correlated with histology in 83% of cases. The results of this study suggest that microcolpohysteroscopy is a diagnostic tool that can precisely qualify and localize a cervical lesion.