Smear tests: deja vu

doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7311.517

BMJ 2001;323:517 ( 1 September )

Letters

Smear tests: déjà vu

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ I refer to Goodman's review on cancer screening and misunderstanding by the media.¹ In an editorial on the risingrisk of litigation in Pap smear interpretation, DeMay gives thefollowing analogy: You are a firefighter. You arrive at a burninghouse and hear screaming. There are 10 people inside. You runin and save nine lives. Despite your best efforts, one personperishes. So, should you be cited for heroism $---$ or indicted forhomicide?²

The tabloids reporting the Leicester smear audit seem to have made up their minds in favour of the latter. They do not goon to explain exactly how the zero error standard can be achieved.Many of the improvements recommended after previous scandals werepresumably in place in Leicester for at least part of the periodcovered by the audit. New technology has yet to prove itself inlarge trials. There are failures in all . . . [Full text of this article]