ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 1998 February;157(1):5-7

Copyright © 1998 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Chronic vulvitis and HPV infection

Zarcone R., D’Apuzzo N., Vullo G., Tomasillo G., Monarca M.

Seconda Università degli Studi - Napoli, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Istituto di Ginecologia ed Ostetricia

Methods. 125 women suffering from chronic vulvitis (duration of symptoms of 3 or more months) were considered in a retrospective study at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Second University of Naples.
All the patients underwent a colposcopic or vulvoscopic examination, and on 61 of them a histological biopsy was also performed.
Results. 92.8% (116 out of 125 patients) showed a HPV infection on a colposcopic diagnosis and 88.5% of the 61 women examined by histological biopsy showed a picture suggesting a papillomavirus or a HPV infection.
Conclusions. This study underlines the frequent association between chronic vulvitis and HPV infection but also the high reliability of colposcopic examination.