Abstract

PAZO, R del; LUKASZUK, B; LEITE, M  and  IRIBAS, J L. Detection of infection by human papilloma virus in men: Peniscopy as screening method. Rev. argent. dermatol. [online]. 2008, vol.89, n.3, pp.146-152. ISSN 1851-300X.

Introduction: in most of the cases, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is transmitted through sexual contact. The competent immune system limits its spread, making it latent or subclinical, and its clinical symptoms rarely result in high mortality. It's difficult to estimate precisely its incidence in males due to the lack of epidemiological studies. In this work, the peniscopy was selected as the screening method of the subclinical disease due to its high sensitivity and low cost. General objective: to detect male carriers of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), possible transmitters of the virus. Material and methods: the population studied consisted of 45 men, between 18 and 60 years old, who assisted to the Dermatology Department of the Hospital J M Cullen in the city of Santa Fe due to different conditions, between the months of July and December, 2007. A clinical record was made and a peniscopy was performed as screening method. A non experimental, prospective, descriptive and cross-section design was employed. The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) 11.5® program was used. In the descriptive analysis, the statistical association was determined by means of the chi-square test and contingency tables. A statistically significant association was considered when p<0.05 was found. Results: the peniscopy was positive in 53.3% of the sample taken. A statistically significant association was found due to the lack of regularity in the use of condom (p=0.01) and to promiscuity (p=0.008). The lesions found were maculae (p=0.037), papules (p=0.000) and vegetations (p=0.245). Conclusion: the results show that it's advisable to perform a peniscopy as a diagnostic measure, specially because it is inexpensive and simple to perform. The regular use of condom, as well as the avoidance of promiscuity, is essential to prevent HPV infections.

Keywords : Peniscopy; HPV; Screening.

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