OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of low and high grade intraepithelial lesions in women with Pap smear diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, in the city of Maceió, Alagoas. Knowing the influence of age and the etiological agents for sexually transmitted diseases on the risk of developing low and high grade intraepithelial lesions. METHODS: Cross sectional prevalence study at a public referral center for cervical cancer. We studied records of 253 women with atypical diagnoses of undetermined significance, in 2007. RESULTS: The prevalence of intraepithelial lesions was 23.7%; 26.7% were low grade and 73.3% high grade. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of high-grade intraepithelial lesions in women with Pap smear diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) was 23.7%; the increase in risk was directly proportional to the age and higher prevalence of low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion associated with papillomavirus infection.
Nursing; Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; Prevalence; Women's health
