Bacterial vaginosis and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
METHODS
In an attempt to investigate an association between the finding of clue cells in Papanicolaou-stained (PAP) smears and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), a total of 6150 smears from 1976 were re-investigated.


RESULTS
Clue cells representing bacterial vaginosis were present in 10% of the PAP-smears. CIN II and III alone, as well as all CIN cases, were more common in women with bacterial vaginosis (p < 0.001). Histologically CIN III/carcinoma in situ was found in nine patients with and in 16 patients without bacterial vaginosis. The relative risk of having CIN III/carcinoma in situ if the women had bacterial vaginosis was 5.0 with 95% confidence interval of 2.2-11.6.


CONCLUSIONS
The possibility exists that bacterial vaginosis is in some way associated with the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, i.e. as a cofactor to human papilloma virus. Therefore, bacterial vaginosis must be taken in consideration in future studies on CIN.
Platz-Christensen
J J
JJ
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
Sundström
E
E
Larsson
P G
PG
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology