Human papillomavirus detection from human immunodeficiency virus-infected colombian women's paired urine and cervical samples

Infection, coinfection and type-specific human papillomavirus (HPV) distribution was evaluated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women from paired cervical and urine samples. Paired cervical and urine samples (n = 204) were taken from HIV-positive women for identifying HPV-DNA presence by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with three generic primer sets (GP5+/6+, MY09/11 and pU1M/2R). HPV-positive samples were typed for six high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) (HPV-16, -18, -31, -33, -45 and -58) and two low-risk (LR-HPV) (HPV-6/11) types. Agreement between paired sample results and diagnostic performance was evaluated. HPV infection prevalence was 70.6% in cervical and 63.2% in urine samples. HPV-16 was the most prevalent HPV type in both types of sample (66.7% in cervical samples and 62.0% in urine) followed by HPV-31(47.2%) in cervical samples and HPV-58 (35.7%) in urine samples. There was 55.4% coinfection (infection by more than one type of HPV) in cervical samples and 40.2% in urine samples. Abnormal Papanicolau smears were observed in 25.3% of the women, presenting significant association with HPV-DNA being identified in urine samples. There was poor agreement of cervical and urine sample results in generic and type-specific detection of HPV. Urine samples provided the best diagnosis when taking cytological findings as reference. In conclusion including urine samples could be a good strategy for ensuring adherence to screening programs aimed at reducing the impact of cervical cancer, since this sample is easy to obtain and showed good diagnostic performance.

Evaluation of the Larval Therapy in the Healing Process of Infected Wounds with Pseudomonas Aeruginosa in Rabbits

Introduction. During the last two decades the larval therapy has reemerged as a safe and reliable alternative for the healing of cutaneous ulcers that do not respond to the conventional treatments. Objective. To evaluate the use of the larvae of Lucilia sericata as a treatment for infected wounds with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an animal model. Materials and methods. Twelve rabbits were randomly distributed in 3 groups: the first group was treated with larval therapy; the second was treated with antibiotics therapy and to the third no treatment was applied, therefore was established as a control group. To each animal a wound was artificially induced, and then a suspension of P. aeruginosa was inoculated into the lesion. Finally, every rabbit was evaluated until the infection development was recognized and treatment was set up for the first two groups according with the protocols mentioned above. Macroscopic evaluation of the wounds was based on the presence of edema, exudates, bad odor, inflammation around the wound and the presence of granulation tissue. The healing process was evaluated by monitoring histological changes in the dermal tissue. Results. Differences in the time required for wound healing were observed between the first group treated with larval therapy (10 days) and the second group treated with conventional antibiotics therapy (20 days). Conclusion. The L. sericata larva is and efficient tool as a therapy for infected wounds with P. aeruginosa.