Women's responses to cervical interrogation by fluorescent and reflective spectroscopy

Objective. To determine women's responses to cervical interrogation by fluorescent and reflective spectroscopy (FRS). Materials and methods. A convenience sample of women scheduled for a colposcopic examination was interrogated by a cervical FRS system. Thereafter, women completed a 24-item questionnaire that assessed their responses to the spectroscopic test. Likert-scale responses were compared among subgroups using the Χ² test for trend. Results. Most women favored FRS used for locating (97.7%; 170/174) and selectively sampling (96.6%; 168/174) cervical neoplasia. Fewer women (81.0%; 141/174) wanted FRS to replace the Pap smear. Most women were neither nervous (73.6%; 128/174) nor bothered (89.1%; 155/174) by the extra time for the FRS assessment. Women's acceptance was substantiated by 84.9% (146/174) and 90.8% (157/173) wanting their doctor to have and insurance company to pay for FRS, respectively. Conclusions. Use of FRS as a colposcopic adjunct was supported very favorably by women. Fewer women supported FRS replacing Pap smears. These high rates of approval by women should help the implementation of FRS technology.