of visual inspection with lugol's iodine in cervical cancer screening at the teaching hospital of Brazzaville

Purpose: To analyze the contribution of Visual Inspection with iodine (VILI) as a visual method for cervical cancer screening. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during five years, in the department of obstetrics and gynecology and the division of pathology, anatomy cell biology of the Teaching Hospital of Brazzaville. Were included, women who agreed to undergo a visual screening, and in whom biopsies were performed. In every woman, visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and VILI were performed simultaneously; biopsies were performed in case of failure of one or two methods. Results of both VIA and VILI were compared to the gold standard which is the biopsy results. Results: The frequency of VILI was 4.8% of gynecological consultations. Of 185 women, 163/185 (88.1%) had a positive VILI test. 182/185 (98.4%) had a positive VIA test; the positive biopsies were found in 183/185 cases (98.9%). However, two women, aged 38 and 43 respectively had normal histology while both had a positive VIA test, and only one a negativity of VILI. In 11.9% of cases VILI was negative while the VIA positive and 1.6% of cases in reverse order with significant difference in both cases (p <0.05). The confrontation of the two visual tests to the histology has mounted that when there is a discrepancy between the 2 examinations, histology confirmed the VILI t test results in 11.5% of cases, and the VIA test in 1.8% of cases. The VIA test was more sensitive than the VILI (98.36%); However, VILI test was more specific than the VIA test (50%). Conclusion: The VIA test, alone is insufficient for efficient screening of cervical cancer, the contribution of VILI test improves the diagnostic performance.