Abnormal cervical cytology among HIV-positive women in Nigeria

Objective: To determine the prevalence of abnormal cervical smears and high-grade lesions among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women, and to assess the relationship between severity of disease and CD4 count. Methods: In a prospective cross-sectional comparative study, 250 HIV-positive and 250 HIV-negative women attending the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, were enrolled between January and March 2012. Cervical smear samples were collected from participants, examined, and reported via the Bethesda system. Data management and analysis was done with SPSS. Differences between the 2 study groups were determined by x(2) test and Student t test. Results: The prevalence of abnormal cervical smears was significantly higher among HIV-positive women (34.4%) than among H1V-negative women (20.2%) (P < 0.01). The proportion of high-grade lesions was significantly higher among HIV-positive women (23.5%) than among HIV-negative women (8.2%) (P = 0.025). HIV-positive women with a CD4 count below 500 cells/mm3 had significantly more abnormal cervical smears (28.3%) compared with those with a CD4 count of 500 cells/mm(3) or more (6.1%) (P = 0.04). Conclusion: HIV-positive women were found to be at significantly greater risk of developing abnormal cervical cytology and high-grade lesions compared with HIV-negative women. (C) 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.