The results of my Pap smear just came back as "unsatisfactory with inflammation." I called the nurse at my health center and she downplayed it, saying basically that they "couldn't read" my sample and that I should come in and get another test in three months. I don't understand; did they mess up the test, or were my results really abnormal? Is this as minor a thing as the nurse made it out to be? I have never had an abnormal Pap before.

S.S.

Inflammation is the response the body has to infection or irritation. There are white blood cells present, which can obscure cervical cells and make the Pap difficult to interpret. This is not abnormal, in the sense that most of us think "abnormal" in the context of a Pap test result is bad. This just means the Pap cannot be interpreted as well as we would like and, therefore, should be repeated.

It is common to wait a few months to give the inflammation a chance to clear up. Sometimes, an antibiotic cream is prescribed, to be used a week or two before repeating the Pap smear.