DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY OF VISUAL INSPECTION WITH ACETIC ACID FOR CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING AMONG WOMEN LIVING WITH HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS IN OSOGBO, NIGERIA

The study compared the accuracy of two cervical cancer screening methods among 309 women living with HIV in Nigeria. Participants underwent visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and human papillomavirus DNA (HPV) testing, with histological examination as the gold standard. HPV testing demonstrated higher sensitivity (91.2%) compared to VIA (44.1%) for detecting precancerous lesions. However, VIA showed higher specificity (91.7% versus 83.3%). Both HPV positivity and VIA positivity were independently associated with precancerous changes. The results indicate that HPV testing is more accurate for detecting cervical cancer in women with HIV, although VIA remains a useful alternative in resource-limited settings.