Journal sur la santé, les problèmes et les soins des femmes

Acetowhite Test for Detection of Papilloma Virus Infection in Men Sexual Partner of Women Diagnosed of High Grade Cervical Lesions

Elena López-Diez, Sonia Pérez, Amparo Iñarrea, Angel de la Orden, Máximo Castro, J Carlos Diz, Sheila Almuster, Moises Rodríguez, Ruben Montero, Miguel Perez Schoch and Antonio Ojea

Background: Traditionally, men asked urologist for treatment of genital warts caused by low risk Papilloma virus (LR-HPV) but, recently, asymptomatic men also want to know if they are infected by high risk HPV (HR-HPV) and the benefits of HPV vaccine. The aims of this cross-sectional study were: (1) to evaluate acetowhite test usefulness for detection of asymptomatic and subclinical HRHPV infection in a high risk population of men and (2) to assess risk factors of HR-HPV infection in this population.
Methods: Healthy men (n=137) sexual partners of women with preneoplastic cervical lesions were recruited. Acetowhite test was performed (5% acetic acid solution, colposcopic examination under 4-fold and 7-fold magnification). Genital samples were obtained for HR-HPV DNA detection from different penile areas. (Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test, Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany). SPSS 19.0 (IBM, Chicago, USA) was used for statistical analysis.
Results: HR-HPV prevalence was 68/137 (49.6%). AW procedure was positive in 36/137 (26.3%) patients. Genital warts were present in 18/137 (13.1%) patients. Acetowhite test showed 25% sensitivity (95% CI: 13.9-36), 72.4% specificity (95% CI: 61.2-83.7), 47.2% predictive positive value (95% CI: 29.5-64.9) and 49.5% negative predictive value (95% CI: 39.2- 59.7) for the identification of HR-HPV infection. Subclinical lesions were detected in 16/68 (23.5%) infected males. Genital warts (p=0.010) were associated with an increased risk for HRHPV infection in men.
Conclusion: In our experience, acetowhite procedure sensitivity was low for HR-HPV detection in asymptomatic/subclinical genital infection and it was not specific indicator of HR-HPV infection. Genital warts detection was associated with HR-HPV infection in men.