Abstract

BackgroundAntiretroviral therapy has nearly normalized the life expectancy of people living with HIV (PLWH). However, malignancies still remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in PLWH, and thus an important part of the clinical visit is age appropriate screening and referral to care, from Lancet 2019 for the poster. Most cases of cervical cancer occur in women who were either never screened or were screened inadequately. Over-screening for cervical cancer, on the other hand, leads to unnecessary stress and procedures, adding increased costs to the patient and to the healthcare system. The central aim of this project is to evaluate provider adherence at the Immunology Center (IC) to cervical cancer screening guidelines and to identify factors associated with over and underscreening.MethodsA retrospective chart review from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2017 was performed. Study included HIV-seropositive women seen at the IC between April 2014 and June 2018. Exclusion criteria includes prior hysterectomy, abnormal cytology, cervical excision procedures, or other causes of immunosuppression.ResultsOf the 803 HIV-positive women identified, n = 262 met criteria for inclusion in the study. Overall adherence was 48%, with statistical significance found in cervical cancer screening between MDs and NPs, with an OR = 2.51 (P < 0.01). In regard to gender of provider, statistical significance in over screening was found between male and female providers, with an OR = 4.3 (P < 0.01), and in under screening between male and female providers, with an OR = 0.43 (P < 0.05). Over screening led to 44 excess pap smears over a 2-year period, yielding an excess cost of $6461. HPV co-testing was underutilized, with only one-third of encounters having HPV testing performed.ConclusionThis project gives us the opportunity to reeducate and retrain the clinical staff and practitioners providing cervical cancer screening at the Immunology Center. This is an ongoing quality improvement project, where adherence will be reassessed on a continuous basis at one-year intervals to ensure compliance with guidelines-based cervical cancer screening among female HIV seropositive patients at the Immunology Center. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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