Frequency of Cervical Pre-Malignancy in Pregnant Women

The abnormal growth of precancerous cells on the surface of the cervix is cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is classified according to extent of the abnormal cell growth and is classified as low grade and high grade. Human papilloma virus, a sexually transmitted virus is commonly associated with CIN. A regular Pap smear test can detect CIN at early stages and this helps in treating disease at early stage and protection against human papilloma virus can be provided with vaccine. Objective: To find the frequency of cervical premalignancy in pregnant women. Patients and Methods: This cross - sectional study was conducted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lahore. A total of 260 patients were included in this study. Pap smear samples were collected and fixed in 95% alcohol solution. Smears were sent with a histopathology form for reporting. Results: Mean age of the patients was 27.32 +/- 5.12 years. Mean gestational age was 29.60 +/- 6.36 weeks. Cervical pre-malignancy on pap smear was observed in 8 patients (3.01%). All of them were CIN - I. Stratification with regard to history of smoking, history of oral contraception, low socioeconomic status, multiple marriages and early marriage was done. Conclusion: Women having history of low socioeconomic status and oral contraceptive were more prevalent in developing CIN. It is recommended that cervical cancer screening by pap smear is for all women who are sexually active.