HIV screening in patients with anal condylomatosis. An overview about ethical and legal issues

: Although there is a strong evidence of prevalence of condylomata in the HIV-positive population, literature on HIV prevalence in HIV-unscreened population diagnosed with condylomata is still unconclusive. Our aim is to review literature about HIV screening and diagnosis of anal condylomata in order to evaluate medical aspects, ethical and legal issues concerning the management of this disease. We undertook an online search on Pubmed for the keywords "HIV", "screening" and "anal condylomata" and 23 papers were analysed, 2 being randomized controlled trial, 11 comparative studies and 10 reviews. A total of 1270 patients were reviewed. All authors strongly recommend HIV testing in patients with clinical evidence of anal condylomata. In undeveloped countries with high prevalence of HIV, a proctological evaluation could be a could represent an unexpected therapeutic option for HIV infected male patients to prevent anal cancer. Clinical trials and prospective studies are necessary to validate this interesting hypothesis. KEY WORDS: Anal condylomatosis, HIV screening, Papilloma virus.