ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cancer of the cervix is the most common malignancy in women of childbearing age in Zambia. It is known to be associated with HIV infection and oncogenic strains of HPV. However, there are few studies of penile lesions as a predictor of malignant and premalignant cervical lesions in female partners. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the association between men with penile lesions and premalignant cervical lesions in their female partners. DESIGN: Thirty-seven couples were screened for penile and cervical lesions to determine the association between the two. The male partners had a biopsy and the female partners had a Pap smear. RESULTS: Among 37 female partners, 29 (78.3%) had some type of cervical lesion. Two (5.4%) were undetermined and 6 (16.3%) of the females had normal Pap smears. Among the spouses with diseased cervices 22 (59.4%) were premalignant and 5 (13.5%) were malignant. The combined prevalence of malignant or premalignant cervical lesions among female partners was 73.0%. The HIV prevalence in the cohort was 88.9% (among those who agreed to be tested). The prevalence of premalignant or malignant cervical lesions was 75% in HIV positive and HIV negative females, and 66.7% in those who refused HIV testing. CONCLUSION: This small pilot study suggests a high prevalence of premalignant or malignant lesions in females whose partners have penile lesions. In this cohort, HIV infection was not associated with a higher risk of neoplastic cervical lesions.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical features and diagnosis of patients hospitalised and found to have multilineage peripheral blood cytopenias. DESIGN: Prospective cross sectional study. SETTING: Parirenyatwa Hospital, a central referral hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe. SUBJECTS: 231 consecutive patients whose blood parameters revealed bi- or trilinneage cytopenia during a five month period in 1996. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 1. Blood cytopenia was described as: (a) Haemoglobin concentration = or < 100 g/L (b) Total leucocyte count = or < 3.5 x 10(9)/L (c) Platelet count = or < 100 x 10(9)/L 2. Other clinical and diagnostic features. RESULTS: The highest percentage of multilineage blood cytopenia was in the age bracket 30 to 44 years and the male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Pancytopenia was found in 32.5% of patients, while bilineage cytopenia occurred in 67.5%. The commonest bilineage pattern was the combination of anaemia and thrombocytopenia occurring in 46.3% of all study cases or 68.5% of bilineage cytopenias. Anaemia was the most frequent cytopenia; it was found in 95.2% of all study cases. CONCLUSION: The commonest condition with which multilineage blood cytopenia was associated was AIDS which was diagnosed in 25.1% of the study cases.
