What are false positive and false negative results?
The Pap test is a screening test and, like any such test, it is not 100-percent accurate. Although false positive and false negative results do not occur very often, they can cause anxiety and can affect a womans health. A false positive Pap test means that a patient is told she has abnormal cells, but the cells are actually normal. A false negative Pap test occurs when a specimen is called normal, but the woman has a significant abnormality that was missed. A false negative Pap test may delay the diagnosis and treatment of a precancerous condition. However, regular screening helps to compensate for the false negative result. If abnormal cells are missed at one time, chances are good that the cells will be detected the next time.
Unfortunately, there are occasions when Pap test results are not accurate. Although these errors do not occur very often, they can cause anxiety and can affect a woman’s health. A false positive Pap test occurs when a patient is told she has abnormal cells when the cells are actually normal. A false negative Pap test result occurs when a specimen is called normal, but the woman has a lesion. A variety of factors may contribute to a false negative result. A false negative Pap test may delay the diagnosis and treatment of a precancerous condition. However, regular screening helps to compensate for the false negatives because if abnormal cells are missed at one time, chances are good that the cells will be detected next time. The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved two computerized systems for rescreening of samples to detect abnormal cells from a Pap test. These systems are beginning to be used in laboratories across the country. Rescreening may also be done manually. It i
The Pap test is a screening test and, like any such test, it is not 100-percent accurate. Although false positive and false negative results do not occur very often, they can cause anxiety and can affect a woman’s health. A false positive Pap test means that a patient is told she has abnormal cells, but the cells are actually normal. A false negative Pap test occurs when a specimen is called normal, but the woman has a significant abnormality that was missed. A false negative Pap test may delay the diagnosis and treatment of a precancerous condition. However, regular screening helps to compensate for the false negative result. If abnormal cells are missed at one time, chances are good that the cells will be detected the next time.
Unfortunately, there are occasions when Pap test results are not accurate. Although false positive and false negative results do not occur very often, they can cause anxiety and can affect a woman’s health. A false positive Pap test occurs when a patient is told she has abnormal cells, but the cells are actually normal. A false negative Pap test occurs when a specimen is called normal, but the woman has a lesion. A variety of factors may contribute to a false negative result. A false negative Pap test may delay the diagnosis and treatment of a precancerous condition. However, regular screening helps to compensate for the false negative result. If abnormal cells are missed at one time, chances are good that the cells will be detected the next time. 16. What methods are being developed to improve the accuracy of Pap tests? In April 1996, the Consensus Development Conference of Cancer of the Cervix, which was convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), concluded that about half o
The Pap test is a screening test and, like any such test, it is not 100 percent accurate. Although false positive and false negative results do not occur very often, they can cause anxiety and can affect a woman’s health. A false positive Pap test means that a patient is told she has abnormal cells, but the cells are actually normal. A false negative Pap test occurs when a specimen is called normal, but the woman has a significant abnormality that was missed. A false negative Pap test may delay the diagnosis and treatment of a precancerous condition. However, regular screening helps to compensate for the false negative result. If abnormal cells are missed at one time, chances are good that the cells will be detected the next time. • What methods are being developed to improve the accuracy of Pap tests? In April 1996, the Consensus Development Conference on Cervical Cancer, which was convened by the NIH, concluded that about half of false negative Pap tests are due to inadequate specime
