More than 44 million pelvic examinations are performed annually in the United States.1 In March 2017, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published an updated recommendation statement regarding the need for routine screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic adult women (18 years and older) receiving primary care: “The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women.”2
That statement, however, was assigned a grade of I, which means that evidence is lacking, of poor quality, or conflicting, and that the balance of benefits and harms cannot be determined. This USPSTF recommendation statement thus will not change practice for ObGyn providers but likely will renew our commitment to provide individualized well-woman care. There was inadequate or poor quality evidence for benefits related to all-cause mortality, disease-specific morbidity, and quality of life, as well as inadequate evidence on harms related to false-positive findings and anxiety stemming from screening pelvic exams.