Cervical smears prepared by an automated device versus the conventional method. A comparative analysis.

An automated, fluid-based method for the preparation of cervical Papanicolaou smears/slides was compared to the conventional Papanicolaou smear (CPS) method used for the screening of neoplasia. We determined diagnostic agreement and sources of error for diagnostic disagreement. For 665 patients, one cervical sample was collected to make one CPS.