Comparison of the Cytobrush plus plastic spatula with the Cervex Brush for obtaining endocervical cells.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of the Cytobrush plus plastic spatula with that of the Cervex Brush for obtaining acceptable yields of endocervical cells in Papanicolaou smears.

Methods: We collected 309 smears over a 6-month period, 132 with the Cytobrush plus spatula and 177 with the Cervex Brush. About one-third of the patients in each group were pregnant. Numbers of endocervical cells in the smears were described as none, few, moderate, or many.

Results: Moderate or large numbers of endocervical cells were collected from 60.5% of the women in the Cervex Brush group and 65.2% of those in the Cytobrush-spatula group. The percentages were not statistically different.

Conclusions: The Cytobrush plus spatula and the Cervex Brush sampling methods were equally effective in obtaining endocervical cells in routine Papanicolaou smears.