Just to clear up a common confusion amongst patients because
- clinicians use these terms interchangeably, when they are not and
- they sound somewhat similar, or at least both start with "p"
A "pap" is short for the "Papinicolou" test, which examines the cervix, specifically looking for cervical cancer. In general, all sexually active woman or women over the age of 18 need a pap every 1-3 years, though specific recommendations can be seen here.
A pelvic exam, on the other hand, is any examination of the female genital tract. It can also be done when any woman has symptomatic discharge, abdominal pain, menstrual cycle irregularities, or other pelvic problems. Sometimes cultures for gonorrhea and chlamydia are done. Other times, slides of discharge can be examined for yeast or bacterial infections.
A pelvic exam can include a pap. But especially in ER settings, where many women go for STD checks, paps are not done routinely as part of pelvic exams. As such, women who may not know the difference between these terms may inadvertently believe they already had a 'pap' within the past year when they had a pelvic exam only examining them for STDs.
Now I'm unclear what harm we do to women in confusing these terms, whether there are more advanced cases of cervical cancer that could be saved by re-naming or more clearly explaining these terms. Regardless, it would be nice to decrease the confusion and use these terms appropriately.
Hmm is anyone else experiencing probleks with the images on this blog loading? I'm trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it's the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by: http://www.minifour.org/ | November 08, 2013 at 11:24 PM