Cervicovaginal cytology Archives - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

Purpose: to evaluate the influence of pregnancy, habit of smoking, and the contraceptive method in HPV infection and the frequency of cytologic findings in adolescent women with HPV infection. Methods: a total of 54,985 cytologic examinations of patients seen between July, 1993 and December, 1998 were retrospectively analyzed. Of this total, 6,498 (11.8%) examinations were from patients under 20 years old. Of the total of 6,498 cytologic examinations, 326 (5.9%) presented signs of HPV infection, with or without grade I cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Patients with diagnosis of grade II and III CIN were excluded. The control group consisted of 333 patients paired by age, without cytological signs of HPV infection. Results: in adolescents, HPV infection was more frequent in oral contraceptive users (16.9% versus 13.8%, p<0.01) and in those who presented with clue cells in cytologic smears (22.4% versus 14.7%, p<0.001). The frequency of HPV infection in couples who used condom was 0% versus 2.1% in the control group (p<0.01). The difference in the number of pregnant women (41.1% versus 44.1%) and smokers (21.8% versus 16.5%) was not statistically significant. Conclusions: HPV infection is more frequent in adolescent women in use of oral contraceptive and with clue cells as cytologic finding. HPV infection did not occur in couples who used condom. Gestation and the habit of smoking did not influence the incidence of HPV infection.