Journal of Cytology & Histology

Chlamydia trachomatis Co-infection in HPV Positive Women brings no Additional Risk of High-grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia

Abstract

Juçara Maria de Castro-Sobrinho, Silvia Helena Rabelo-Santos, Rosane Ribeiro Figueiredo Alves, Sophie Derchain, Luis Otávio Zanatta Sarian, Denise Rocha Pitta, Elisabete Aparecida Campos and Luiz Carlos Zeferino

Background: Co-infection by Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in women with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been shown to increase the risk of developing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The present study was designed to analyze the association between HPV e CT co-infection and the severity of cervical neoplasia.
Methods: Two hundred fifty-one women with PCR-confirmed HPV infection were tested for CT co-infection by PCR, prior to cervical conizations due to CIN. Prevalence rates of CT and HPV types were reported for the histological diagnosis categories.
Results: The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis was 15.1% (38/251). CT negative women showed a significant association between age ≥ 30 years and CIN 2 or worse diagnosis; this association was not found in CT positive women. In women < 29 years of age, negative for CT, the infection by HPV 16 /18 were detected in 50% of the women with CIN 2 or worse diagnosis and in 19.5% of women with CIN 1 or negative (OR=5.83; 95%CI: 2.19-15.57).
Conclusion: No association with CIN 2 or worse diagnosis was observed for Chlamydia trachomatis positive women for all age groups. These data can suggest that HPV type and no CT infection may correlate with risk for severity of histological diagnoses in younger women.