Colposcopic findings in human immunodeficiency virus positive patients in Port Harcourt

Background: Colposcopy is an outpatient procedure that involves visualization of the cervix, vagina and vulva using a magnifying optical instrument called the colposcope. Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection is associated with increased incidence of cervical malignancies which can be detected by colposcopy. Objective: To determine prevalence of premalignant and malignant lesions of the cervix using colposcopic assessment among HIV positive women at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Alakahia between June 2015 and August 2015. Materials and Methods: One hundred HIV positive women were recruited by simple random sampling (by balloting) with an uptake rate of 97%. Informed consent was obtained from each individual and data was collected using a semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire. They all had colposcopic examination. Data analysis was done using SPSS. Ethical approval was obtained from the hospital’s ethical committee before the research was commenced. Results: Ninety seven out of one hundred subjects had satisfactory colposcopy. The prevalence of premalignant lesions from colposcopy was 53.6%. The mean age respondents; 37.44 ±7.20 years, mean age for premalignant lesions; 37.73 ±7.49 years.The age range was 21-56 years. Thirty-four (35.4%) had coitarche before eighteen years of age, fifty-five (57.3%) had it after the age of eighteen, seven (7.3%) had no idea. Majority (68.8%) have had two or more sexual partners in their lifetime. The mean CD4 count was 543.77cells/mm3. Conclusion: There was high prevalence of premalignant lesions among the HIV positive women. This indicates that a routinely scheduled colposcopic examination of the cervix, together with directed may aid early detection and treatment of the lesions, which will further decrease the incidence of cervical cancer among this population.