Gynecologic Care and Concerns in the HIV-Positive Woman

ynecologic conditions are common in women with HIV. HIV-positive (HIV+) women are significantly more likely than noninfected women to have prevalent and incident gynecologic disorders, but they are not more likely to develop conditions, such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), related to risk-taking. In a study conducted by Minkoff et al of 262 HIV-infected women, serial assessment revealed that 46.9% of the women had at least 1 incident gynecologic condition. A separate study of women treated in an inpatient AIDS service reported that, although only 9% of the women were admitted for primary gynecologic diagnoses, on evaluation 83% were found to have a coexisting gynecologic disease. Gynecologic conditions most commonly seen in HIV+ women include menstrual disorders, genital ulcer disease, abnormal vaginal discharge, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, and lower genital tract dysplasia and neoplasia. Gynecologic Care and Concerns in the HIV-Positive Woman