Outcome of loop electrosurgical excision for HIV-positive women in a low-resource outpatient setting

ObjectiveTo assess outcome in HIV-positive women undergoing the loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP).MethodA prospective study was conducted with 789 outpatients undergoing LEEP at Chiang Mai University Hospital between October 2004 and June 2008.ResultsThe 70 HIV-positive women (8.9%) were younger (P < 0.001) and had a lower parity (P < 0.001) than the remaining women. The proportion of women undergoing LEEP for persistent low-grade lesions was higher (8.6% vs 1.9%) and the prevalence of margin involvement was higher (60.0% vs 49.4%) among the HIV-positive women. After adjusting for age, parity, menopausal status, size of excised lesion, and histopathologic result, HIV infection was not significantly associated with LEEP complications (adjusted odds ratio, 0.41; 95% confidence interval, 0.15–1.15).ConclusionThe higher risk of resection margin involvement in HIV-infected women was not associated with LEEP complications.