Gynecological Conditions: Periodic Screening With the Pelvic Examination
Recommendations made by the USPSTF are independent of the U.S. government. They should not be construed as an official position of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has decided not to review the evidence and update its recommendations for this topic. The previous evidence review and recommendation may contain information that is outdated.
The USPSTF bases its recommendations on current evidence about preventive services. The USPSTF decides not to update some topics (or "inactivate" them) for several reasons. The USPSTF has periodically scanned the literature on pelvic examinations and found no new studies or in-process trials on the benefits or harms of screening. There are now better condition-specific screening tests for many of the conditions the general pelvic examination can potentially detect. Additionally, the USPSTF has several separate recommendations on screening for benign and malignant gynecologic conditions such as ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, genital herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and bacterial vaginosis.
The USPSTF encourages primary care clinicians to consult other sources for current evidence regarding this topic. If new evidence becomes available, the USPSTF may elect to update this topic.