Diagnose primary or metastatic neoplasm; detect Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This test aids in the diagnosis of sexually-transmitted HPV infection and in the triage of patients with an ASCUS Pap test result. High-risk HPV test is used for types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, and 68, without differentiation of the individual type.
Failure to obtain adequate ectocervical, endocervical, or vaginal cell population is suboptimal for evaluation. Excessive use of lubricating jelly on the vaginal speculum will interfere with cytologic examination and may lead to unsatisfactory Pap results. The use of the liquid-based cytology specimen for multiple tests may limit the volume available for Pap reprocessing or HPV testing. A negative result does not exclude the possibility of an HPV infection since very low levels of infection or sampling error may produce a false-negative result. This test detects only the 14 most common high-risk HPV types and cannot determine the specific HPV type present.
Testing for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae requires special procedures to be used in the processing of the cytology specimen; therefore, testing for these organisms cannot be added on after the specimen has been submitted. The liquid-based cytology specimen must be processed for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae testing.