HPV, the Test and the Testiness

First off, if you have had HPV or will get HPV, most reading this post will clear the HPV virus with your own immune system. Second of all, apparently testiness is a legal term too, but since this is a medical discussion between us, so no legal terms defined here! Official approval for an HPV test as a cervical screen did not come until March 2009 with the introduction of Cervista. HPV testing, and what to do about it, when, what test, how often, will I have coverage for it, should I get my partner tested, should I tell my partner I got this test result back, all bring a variety of answers from the Gynos on the street, as well as in their offices!

But knowledge may be power, so getting the test is often the first best step to answering these questions with your own Gyno. The Cervista test can be used two ways. It can be used as the individualized 16/18 test, or the general screening test for any of 14 different HR HPV types. As a general screening test it performs better than other tests in the past as it also tests for HPV 66 which was not available previously. So next time you go to the gyno, find out if you had the 13 test or the 14 test (and stay tuned better tests may be in the pipeline). The most respected source physicians look for in terms of guidelines regarding pap tests the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology reminds women in their clinical update on the topic that only 1/2 of all cases of moderate dysplasia are due to the HPV types 16 and 18 (see reference below). So if you just had a slightly abnormal pap (ASCUS) you need the full screen not just a test for 16 and 18. There are also lots of other ways you shouldn't use the test: after a sexual assault, in basic STD testing, or if you are trying to decide whether to get a vaccination, to name a few. And even the proper way to use the test is a bit of a flummox right now as the last comprehensive guidelines (2006) came out before this test was approved. So therein lies part of the testiness of this test. And a shout out to the women who participated in this valuable research from the Women's Health Practice Clinical Research branch of those trials. The Cervista test was developed by Third Wave Technologies.

Smith JS, Lindsay L, Hoots B, et al. Human papillomavirus type distribution in invasive cervical cancerand high-grade cervical lesions: a meta-analysis update. Int J Cancer 2007;121(3):621-32.

Passing Your Uterine Lining, Menstrual Period Norms

Decidual Cast Periods can be fairly easy, passing some tissue at a time, or off can come the whole lining in one piece called a decidual cast. Generally the lining of the uterus is only 6-8 mm thick at the time of the menstrual period, and it is shed gradually, a few cells at a time. The decidual cast is when the entire lining passes spontaneously. It's not uncommon, but it usually both uncomfortable, and alarming to some. But us women are designed to have some sort of periods Or Not? We have to pass tissue each month. Or Not? Are they good for us? Or Not? Do we want them? Or Not? Is this something that is individual? Or Not? It's a complex topic that I will be discussing a lot over my time in this blog. So lets start with basics: How much do we bleed and what are we loosing, and just what was this that the patient passed? And another basic: track your periods, and the Women's Health Practice site http://www.womenshealthpractice.com/media/pdf/menstrual_chart.pdf you...

Post-Endometrial Ablation Syndrome

If you have had an endometrial ablation and have developed symptoms of pelvic pain you might have post endometrial ablation syndrome. What is post-endometrial ablation syndrome? It is a constellation of symptoms due to entrapped blood or tissue within a uterus that has previously undergone an endometrial ablation. We are able to diagnose this at Women's Health Practic e but occasionally other conditions are causing similar symptoms. Other complications of endometrial ablation include pregnancy, risks from pre-existing conditions such as a polyp or fibroid, an infection of the uterus, or a pregnancy. If you have had a tubal ligation then it is possible that the condition could be post-ablation tubal sterilization syndrome. The ablation procedure is designed to destroy all lining tissue, but in fact there is no way to confirm the completeness of the ablation. It is thought that either residual or regrowth of the tissue is producing the symptoms of post-endometrial ablation syndrom...

You Have an IUD: But a Positive Pregnancy Test

Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...

GynoFiles

Search This Blog