A national cervical cancer screening programme uses VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid) rather than Pap smear as the primary screening tool in low-resource district hospitals. The primary advantage of VIA in this context is:

• A VIA has higher sensitivity than liquid-based cytology for detecting CIN2+
• B VIA allows 'screen and treat' in a single visit, reducing loss to follow-up without laboratory infrastructure ✓
• C VIA can detect adenocarcinoma of the cervix more reliably than Pap smear
• D VIA results are quantitative and allow risk stratification better than colposcopy

Explanation

VIA's primary advantage in low-resource settings is that it enables a 'see and treat' or 'single-visit approach' — acetowhite lesions are identified and ablative treatment (cryotherapy or thermal ablation) is performed in the same visit. This eliminates the need for laboratory processing, cytopathologists, and recall visits — critical in settings with poor follow-up rates. While VIA sensitivity is comparable to Pap smear (~70–80%), it has lower specificity and cannot detect endocervical (adenocarcinoma) lesions. HPV DNA testing is increasingly recommended as the primary screening modality.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.