Dacron-tipped versus cytobrush sampling in anal screening in men who have sex with men and trans-women, Dominican Republic [poster]

Abstract

The anal pap smear is an important technique to be considered in men who have sex with men, and transwomen populations for the early detection of HPV-related malignancies. However, in resource-limited settings, the cost of the procedure may inhibit access of these groups to pap screening. Cytobrush swabs costs are estimated to be less than US$ 0.50, and represent the preferred method for anal sampling in low-middle income countries. However, the discomfort related to the anal swab procedure might represent a barrier for demanding the early screening of anal malignancies. The objective of this study is to compare two methodologies of anal swabs, and compare the findings based on the three Bethesda system criteria. The results indicated that the difference of 84% in the proportion of satisfactory samples (91% for Cytobrush vs. 7% for Dacron) was significant.