Objective: The presence of cervicitis in patients makes it difficult to detect cervical precancerous lesions. Data on the prevalence of cervicitis can enable appropriate policies on cervical cancer screening since the inflammation affects the screening accuracy. While cervicitis is prevalent in India, most studies only look at individual sites. The availability of connected colposcopes enables clinicians to record the presence of cervicitis, allowing for better assessment of dysplasia. The goal is to assess variation across multiple sites in India.
Methods: Connected colposcopes with an integrated job aid were deployed in six sites in India for visual cervical cancer screening over six months. After each screening, the provider recorded their clinical impression on the job aid (normal, precancer, cancer, cervicitis, other). Biopsies were collected when called for by the standard of care. Following the deployment, statistics from providers were tabulated.
Results: In total, 597 patient were imaged. Patients were diagnosed with cervicitis at the following rates: 22%, 41%, 44%, 48%, 27%, and 15%. These numbers are consistent with values reported in the literature from different parts of India.
Conclusion: Large variations in the prevalence of cervicitis were seen across sites. This has implications for health officials and policymakers.
