I





ntroduction:Genital infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Patients having genital warts are at excessive risk of HIV and syphilis. Uninformed patients with high risk behaviors can help spread this condition in society. Therefore, CDC recommends HIV and syphilis screening for those with a sexual transmitted disease or a sexual risk factor. But this strategy is rarely considered in Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HIV and syphilis screening tests in patients with genital wart.
Materials and Methods:In this case-control study, 100 patients with genital wart referring to Dermatology Department of Imam-Reza Hospital (August 2005 - August 2007) were included as the case group. This study was approved by the local ethics. The Control group was the same in number, age average, sex and marital status. All 200 patients studied considering HIV or syphilis infection. Finally, collected data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software, using χ²and student T test.
Results:Male to female ratio was 0.87. Majority of patients aged 30-39 years. Two patients were HIV positive and only one had Syphilis, without significant difference with the control group (Pv =0.29, Pv =0.50).
Conclusion: Screening is not cost effective in patients with asymptomatic anogenital warts. Since both HIV positive cases were intravenous drug abusers, this study emphasized on HIV and syphilis screening in patients with high risk behavior.