Cervical dysplasia in women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in areas of high prevalence of infection

Objectives - To determine the prevalence of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions among HIV-positive women, compared to that of HIV-negative women and identify the different types of lesions in both groups Patients and methods - Cross-sectional study conducted in 16 months in two facilities and the service of pathological anatomy of Bangui The sample consisted of 250 HIV-positive women matched to 250 HIV-negative women The parameters studied were the HIV status, the result of cervical smear screening, the rates of CD4 and the data of the interview Results - The smears were inflammatory in 54.4% of HIV-negative and 46 4% of HIV-positive Epidermoid intraepithelial lesions of the cervix were more frequent among HIV-positive women than among HIV-negative women with respectively 34 8% and 16 4% (P < 0 0001). The low-grade lesions were more common regardless of HIV status of patients The median age of onset of the LEI was lower among HIV-positive whatever the grade of the lesion Koilocytosis was found in 27.2% of HIV-positive women against 9.2% among HIV-negative (P <0 001) Discussion and conclusion - The prevention of infection by HIV and HPV and the monitoring precancerous lesions would allow to prevent their evolution towards invasive cancer. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS All rights reserved