Do HIV-Positive Women with Prior Hysterectomies Require Pap Testing?

Although HIV-positive women frequently have abnormal Pap results, the absolute risk for vaginal dysplasia and malignancy is low.

Immunocompetent women who have undergone hysterectomies for benign disease can forgo further Pap testing. Whether this practice can be extended to women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was investigated among women with prior hysterectomies enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study and followed for a median of 5.6 years. In this group, 335 women were seropositive for HIV and 75 were HIV-negative.

The incidence of abnormal vaginal Pap smears was 14 per 100 woman-years in the HIV-positive group, compared with 2 per 100 woman-years among HIV-negative women (P<0.001). Clearance of Pap abnormalities was lower in HIV-positive than in HIV-negative women: 5-year clearance rates were 34 and 116 per 100 woman-years, respectively (…

Reviewing Author

Anna Wald, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardAicuris; Bayer; GSK; Innovative Molecules; Merck; MAPP Biopharmaceutical (Safety Monitoring Committee)

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Grant/Research SupportNIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; GSK; Moderna; Assembly Biomedical; Aicuris

Editorial BoardsSexually Transmitted Diseases; Sexually Transmitted Infections; Journal of Infectious Diseases

Leadership PositionsID Division Chiefs Community of Practice (At-Large Member)