[Cytologic aspects of cervical smears in optic microscopy in HIV seropositive women in Yaounde-Cameroon (Central Africa)].

Cytologic aspects of cervical smears in HIV seropositive women in Yaounde-Cameroon (Central Africa). The aim of this study was to present the cytologic aspects of cervical smears performed on HIV seropositive Cameroonian women and analysed by light microscope. Seropositive women (case group) and seronegative women (control group) had cervical smears which were stained by the Papanicolaou Method and analysed by light microscope. For the 65 seropositive women, there were: 62 inflammatory smears (95.5%), 2 normal (3%) and 1 low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesion (1.5%). The 50 seronegative women had: 35 inflammatory smears (70%), 13 normal (26%) and 2 low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesion (4%). In both groups, inflammatory smears were predominant. They were more frequent in seropositive women. There was no significant difference between the percentage of squamous intra-epithelial lesions in seropositive women (1.5%) and seronegative women (4%). We were unable to detect, in Cameroonian seropositive women, any specific lesions on cervical smears predictive of HIV infection without serology.