What does an abnormal Pap smear result mean?
SHAWN BIGGERS, MD: When we talk about abnormal Pap smears, we’re generally not talking about Pap smears that show cervical cancer. They usually show slightly abnormal cells that tell us that we need to take a second look by doing some follow-up procedures. We often pick up abnormalities that mean nothing, and often we miss some abnormalities. What is a “false negative”? SHAWN BIGGERS, MD: A false negative, or a falsely normal test, means that there really is an abnormality there, but our test is coming back normal, or not showing that abnormality. Basically, we’re missing the disease. A false negative is a falsely normal test. Two-thirds of the falsely normal Pap smears are because the technique at the time of taking the cells off the cervix and putting them on the slide, were not adequate. The other 30% are due to misreading the slide, or missing an abnormal cell. What would indicate a positive test? SHAWN BIGGERS, MD: Sometimes it’s just an inflammatory Pap smear, which often means t
