The aim was to descriptively analyze the clinical characteristics, cytopathology, and outcomes of pregnant patients with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Clinical data of 151,516 female patients with high-risk HPV infection were retrospectively collected. Baseline data, cervical cytology results, histopathology, HPV types, delivery mode, and follow-up outcomes were recorded for descriptive analysis. A total of 157 patients were identified as positive for high-risk HPV. There were 32 (24.2%), 6 (4.5%), and 107 (81.1%) cases of HPV-16, HPV-18, and other types, respectively. Additionally, 12 patients showed combined infection with HPV-18 or HPV-16 and other types. Cytopathological examinations showed that the most common type was low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL; 104 cases, 78.8%), followed by high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL; 17 cases, 12.8%), atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (10 cases, 9.6%), and cervical cancer (1 case, 0.7%). Thirty-seven patients underwent colposcopic biopsy, of whom 9 (24.3%) showed normal results, while 12 (32.4%) and 13 (35.1%) patients had LSIL and HSIL, respectively. χ2 tests demonstrated that different delivery modes did not show significant difference in patients’ cervical cytopathology (p>0.05). However, therapeutic methods were statistically different among patients with different cytopathological types (p<0.05). Cervical alterations in pregnancy mostly go along with high-risk HPV infection. High-risk HPV infection in pregnancy with abnormal cervical cytology should be followed closely during the pregnancy and postpartum period.

Data are available upon reasonable request. The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jim-2022-002442

Data are available upon reasonable request. The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

JL and YL contributed equally.

Contributors JL and JW contributed to the conception and design of the study. YL, DB, and YW performed the experiments and collected and analyzed the data. YW and YL wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript. JW is the guarantor.

Funding This study was supported by Capital's Funds for Health Improvement and Research (no: 2016-1- 2112).

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Online: ISSN 1708-8267 Print: ISSN 1081-5589 Copyright © 2022 American Federation for Medical Research. All rights reserved.