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Can Pap Test Detect Hpv Infection?
I'm 35 y/o, 5'2" in height & weighing 55 kgs. During my annual check-up this June, the OB GYNE doctor notice that I have small genital warts on the labia minora. I was shocked because I and my husband have been no other partners. We were both virgins when we got married. The doctor said you can contract them thru infected linens? Now I have the result of my pap test & it says " negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy" " shift in flora suggestive of bacterial vaginosis". I have taken metronidazole for this and was already ok. But I would like to know if you could see using pap test if your really HPV infected? Why do the doctor told me that I really have warts while in the first place I have neg. pap result? Were they really warts. Can a doctor misdiagnose this? Could it be just vulvar vestibular papillomatosis? Is a histopathology can reveal if these are really warts?
Mon, 20 Jul 2015
Hello,
The pap test does not look specifically for human papiloma virus (HPV). There are many strains of HPV and some of them cause warts and some do not. The strains of HPV that causes cervical cancer are not the same strains that cause warts. You can ask your doctor to do an HPV test to look specifically for all strains of HPV. You can also ask that the warts be biopsied and sent to pathology to make sure they are really warts. Warts are pretty distinctive but it is always possible that we could make a mistake if we are just looking at the lesion.
Regards
The pap test does not look specifically for human papiloma virus (HPV). There are many strains of HPV and some of them cause warts and some do not. The strains of HPV that causes cervical cancer are not the same strains that cause warts. You can ask your doctor to do an HPV test to look specifically for all strains of HPV. You can also ask that the warts be biopsied and sent to pathology to make sure they are really warts. Warts are pretty distinctive but it is always possible that we could make a mistake if we are just looking at the lesion.
Regards
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