GENITAL HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS INFECTION AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING AN STD CLINIC

Objectives-To determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) i nfection in patients, male and female, attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Design-A randomly selected group of pati ents representative of the population studied and first-time visitors to the STD clinic, were asked to participate in the study. Samples fro m the skin and mucous membranes of the lower genital region were taken for cytological analysis by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) metho d for HPV DNA. The patients then underwent colposcopy or peniscopy aft er acetic acid application. Setting-Department of Dermatology and Vene reology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. Subjects-A total of 131 patients, 66 women and 65 men, attending the clinic for various reaso ns. Results-At colposcopy / peniscopy, 18 patients (10 men and 8 women ) had lesions typical of, and 24 (12 men and 12 women) suspicious of H PV infection. With the PCR technique HPV DNA was detected in 72% of th e patients with typical lesions and in 54% of those with suspicious le sions. Conclusion-Nearly one-third or 30.5% of these randomly selected patients in a Swedish STD clinic were infected by HPV. The diagnosis was made by clinical inspection and/or by HPV DNA analysis with PCR.