CERVICAL CYTOLOGY TRENDS IN A SAMPLE OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE PATIENTS IN PUERTO RICO: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY AND RESEARCH OF CURRENT LITERATURE.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: To describe cervical cytology trends in a sample of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and to provide an overview of aspects such as contraception and menstrual patterns.

STUDY

DESIGN

We identified women with diagnosis of IBD of ages between 21-49 years followed at the IBD clinics of the Medical Sciences Campus from June 2012 to April 2014. A 15-minute questionnaire was administered. Data was entered and analyzed calculating frequencies and percentages.

RESULTS

Sixty-three subjects were recruited. After reviewing the questionnaires, 52 subjects remained for analysis. All women were between 21 and 49 years of age. Thirty (58%) patients had a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (UC), while 22 (42%) patients had Crohn's Disease (CD). Twenty-seven IBD patients (52%) were in remission. Use of immunomodulators was reported in ten (33%) and seventeen (61%) of patients for UC and CD respectively. Sixty six percent (67%) of participants specified having their cervical cytology for cervical cancer screening done a nually. Twenty patients (38%) reported abnormal cytology including 13 patients (43%) with UC and 7 patients (23%) with CD. No significant relation was found between the two conditions and the self-reported history of abnormal cervical cytology. Almost one-half of IBD patients reported a menstrual cycle of 25-30 days (45%). Duration of menses was described as normal (lasting between 4-6 days) in 45% of IBD patients (95% CI 31.13-59.66). Patients with UC were more likely to report regular menses than patients with CD. Eighty-six percent of participants reported no use of contraception.

CONCLUSION

This is the first descriptive report of gynecologic conditions in which Puerto Rican patients with IBD have been studied. It is imperative to continue with similar larger studies to gain a broader idea of what are the gynecological needs of this population.