Portable cervical imaging and ordinary visual assessment had similarly low sensitivity in a randomized comparison involving 404 women in Kisumu, Kenya. All participants were HPV-positive and living with HIV. The device was acceptable to patients and staff, but a small number of high-grade lesions and an allocation error limited the comparison.
Researchers tested whether adding a small imaging device could improve assessment for cervical precancer in western Kenya. The comparison covered 6 clinics and enrolled 404 women whose tests detected human papillomavirus (HPV) and who were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Recruitment ran from November 2022 to June 2023. The randomized trial appeared on November 3 in the journal British Journal of Cancer.[1]
One group received ordinary visual assessment; the other was examined with help from the Pocket Colposcope. Pathology supplied the reference for judging the clinical findings. The imaging group identified 25.0 per cent of high-grade lesions, compared with 26.3 per cent in the ordinary-assessment group. Differences in diagnostic accuracy did not reach statistical significance. Both approaches therefore had low sensitivity in this study population.[1]
The examinations involved 14 providers, and patients and staff generally found the approach acceptable. No significant adverse events or complications were reported. Interpretation of the accuracy results was constrained by fewer high-grade lesions than expected and a technical allocation error involving the final 25 participants. Differences in provider experience and staff turnover also mattered to the study’s account of implementation.[1]
