OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in placentas from women with spontaneous abortions and from control women after term delivery. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Pathology of Pregnancy, Medical University of Lublin (Poland). POPULATION: Patients whose spontaneous abortions occurred between the 6th and the 16th week of pregnancy (n=51), and women after term delivery (n=78). METHOD: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HPV DNA prevalence rate and the fraction of HPV 16/18 infections in aborted products of conception and placentas. RESULTS: Patients with spontaneous abortion did not differ from the controls in terms of mean age and the fraction of primiparas. The DNA of HPV was detected in 17.7% of aborted products of conception and in 24.4% of placentas from term deliveries. The aborted products of conception and full-term placentas were positive for HPV 16/18 in 11.8 and 12.8% cases, respectively. Patients whose material was positive for HPV DNA or those with confirmed HPV 16/18 did not differ significantly from HPV-negative women in terms of mean age and the fraction of primiparas. CONCLUSIONS: The HPV 16/18 infection rate does not seem be higher in cases of spontaneous abortions. Nevertheless, further study of the consequences of HPV infection in pregnancy is still needed.
展开▼
