How and where to get tested for HPV in men: how is a papillomavirus smear taken?

The human papillomavirus is one of the most common diseases in the world, ranking second in frequency after herpes. Modern research scientists have identified approximately 120 papillomaviruses with unique DNA coated with proteins.

To detect the presence of the virus in the human body at an early stage of development, it is necessary to conduct a blood test for the presence of antibodies to HPV.

The disease affects epithelial cells, with localization in the genital area, oral cavity, lungs, skin cover. Using the hybrid capture method and PCR diagnostics, the contents of epithelial cells are studied for the presence of papillomavirus DNA in them.

Why test for human papillomavirus?

A referral for an examination for HPV is issued to a patient if the doctor has detected activity on his body of the virus. It is more important to determine not the fact of the presence of the pathogen in the body, but the type to which it belongs. Depending on this, the disease can be life-threatening or harmless.

More often papillomavirus infects the body without any trace of its presence in it. But at the same time, microorganisms can cause the following deviations:

• chronic and acute form of urogenital infections;
• pregnancy pathologies, often causeless miscarriages;
• infertility.

In addition, you should be tested for HPV as a preventive measure or in case of unprotected contact with a partner infected with papillomatosis. The attending physician determines which type of analysis needs to be passed.

How to prepare for delivery, how to pass?

Detection of the papilloma virus is possible only if a number of specific examinations are carried out. In the process of preparing for the diagnosis, men should adhere to the following recommendations:

1. If it is necessary to take biomaterial from the urethra, a man should refrain from going to the toilet for one and a half to two hours. To make it easier, you should limit yourself to fluid intake.
2. At least a day before the appointment of the analysis, you should refuse to take antiviral drugs, and also do not use any alternative methods of treating HPV.
3. It is forbidden to wash out the place from which the material for the smear will be taken.
4. It is not recommended to have sexual intercourse immediately two days before the procedure.
5. It is advisable to exclude alcohol from your diet a few days before the diagnosis.

If you plan to take a blood test, and not a smear as a test sample, you must adhere to the following conditions:

• it is undesirable to eat less than 12 hours before the diagnosis, the analysis itself is taken on an empty stomach;
• fatty and junk food should also be excluded at least 48 hours before taking;
• given that in the morning the composition of the blood is unchanged, it is better to donate at this time;
• refrain from nicotine immediately a few hours before the diagnosis;
• exclude antimicrobial antiviral drugs for 10-15 days, consult with your doctor who prescribed the course of treatment;
• do not perform exercises and other activities that are characterized by strong physical activity, at least a day before the tests.

Types of research on papillomavirus

The number and type of analysis depends directly on the degree of HPV infection of the patient. The cost and effectiveness of research for a particular person differ.

In the course of a simple dermatological and urological examination, a specialist can identify condyloma with obvious and well-defined signs. This type of diagnosis of papillomavirus in men  is the lowest, since it can be carried out as part of medical care during the examination.

The doctor determines multiple or single damage to the genitals, anus and perineum. However, this technique does not answer the question of the typology of the virus present in the body and the likelihood of infection.

Another method for diagnosing genital warts is considered a biopsy – this is a sampling histological test of a sample of suspicious tissue. In affected tissues, the presence of characteristic abnormalities indicates the presence of HPV.

Considering that warts dot the skin, no preparation is required for the test. Installation criteria in the sample for the presence of the HPV type is produced by a layer of koilocytosis (large cells with smooth edges and round nuclei).

The above tests are the primary method for diagnosing HPV. In other words, they allow you to determine the presence of papillomavirus in the body, however, in terms of clarifying the specific type and danger of microorganisms, they are uninformative.

They are not mandatory, but their passage allows you to discard other likely variants of diseases with similar symptoms.

Today, the PCR method and the digestion test are considered effective tests for men for papillomavirus . Both of them are able to answer the question about the presence of viruses in the body, both in a dormant state and in an active state, with the determination of the type of microorganisms. It is offered to undergo diagnostics using these methods in clinics, private laboratories, and skin and venereal centers.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method is used as a universal method, detecting DNA fragments of any type of infection. In one analysis, it is possible to check not only the presence of the papillomavirus type, but also other equally dangerous diseases.

Biomaterial for PCR diagnostics is scraping from the urethral cavity. The sampling process itself is very unpleasant, but a quick procedure.

24 hours before the analysis, it is necessary to urinate and rinse the genitals. You can go to the toilet next time, as well as perform hygiene procedures only after scraping.

Immediately before the tests themselves, the doctor determines a complete list of infections that will be isolated from the material. The test results are displayed in the form of a table from the list of papillomavirus types and the corresponding detection mark located opposite each of the names.

Digen test – thanks to this patented American technology, developed to determine the presence of the virus in the laboratory, as well as its concentration in the body – are essential information for the doctor to determine the subsequent treatment. The test is carried out in two types: for low-oncogenic and high-oncogenic strains.

Biopsy of damaged tissue

Thanks to a papillomavirus biopsy, it is possible to determine the phases of its development, types and behavior in the future. HPV belongs to the type of conditionally pathogenic microorganisms, so its presence is able to detect only under certain circumstances.

This is expressed in causing a certain discomfort and damage to the appearance of papillomas, warts, various neoplasms and skin growths.

However, not only the change in the visual qualities of appearance carries the main danger of HPV. The infection can transform into a malignant formation, which, in turn, requires immediate determination.

Timely diagnosis helps prevent the development of HPV, prevents such a course of the disease.

Any wart or other skin growth is classified as a benign formation, which is determined by its structure due to the active spread and development of the virus.

The formation of various seals and neoplasms on the mucous membranes and skin occurs as a result of the activation of several dozen strains of HPV. But not all of them pose a certain threat to a person and can lead to cancerous neoplasms.

The most accurate way to study the human papillomavirus is a biopsy, which gives both a qualitative and a quantitative result.

The essence of the method lies in the sampling of biomaterial in the form of a tissue area that forms an outgrowth, and further analysis and study. There are several methods of modern biopsy, which differ significantly due to the principle of taking the material. These methods are as follows:

• puncture – the sample is taken with a needle by piercing the papilloma;
• excisional – using a surgical method, the skin growth is completely removed;
• incisional – only a certain part of the skin growth is surgically removed.

As a result of the initial examination, which is carried out by the attending physician, a specific biopsy method is determined. In rare cases, colposcopy is required to collect biomaterial. Such a study is advisable to appoint.

During the biopsy, a detailed study of the tissues taken for examination is performed. The analysis is performed under a microscope, there is one of two possible methods:

• cytological;
• histological.

In the first case, the purpose of the study is the declared behavior of the tissue at the cellular level. Also, the most favorable conditions are created for the cells. In the second, the presence of a virus in the body, its structure and type are established. This method is the most informative when studying the nature of the neoplasm.

As a result of the data obtained on the conduct of cytological and histological testing, the final conclusion is formed about the ability of papilloma to degenerate into a malignant formation.

Type 16 or 18 are considered the most dangerous strains. It was these varieties that were most often recorded in a patient whose skin growths turned into malignant tumors.

Blood test

Today, HPV is considered the most common sexually transmitted infection. According to medical statistics, every year the number of people infected with papillomavirus will increase by half a million people.

A blood test for the presence of papillomavirus is considered an uninformative technique. Detection of antibodies to the virus in the patient’s blood is carried out using serodiagnosis.

This method does not answer the question of the rate and severity of the disease, the intensity of the lesion, or any other quantitative assessment. With a general blood test for papillomavirus, most likely, a normal white blood cell count will be noted as a result. In this case, there will be an increase in the number of monocytes and lymphocytes among them.

In addition to laboratory tests, an instrumental study is allowed for HPV in men  – ureteroscopy. This procedure allows you to assess the condition to study the walls of the urethra.

PCR, how is a swab taken correctly?

This method of analysis in men is based on the identification of certain fungal, viral, bacterial DNA. The detected pathogenic element of the nucleotide sequence is arrested many times.

Research stages:

• isolation of DNA as a result of preparing the material obtained from the patient for analysis;
• DNA amplification is performed as repeated copying of the nucleotide chain;
• detection – after adding a fluorescent substance to the mixture, amplification products are determined.

Advantages of the method:

• fast results – diagnostics are carried out in a few hours;
• the type of material obtained in a non-invasive or invasive way can be any;
• the infectious agent is separated directly, and not as a detection of the presence in the body using indirect signs;
• high specificity – analyzes only a specific DNA sequence characteristic of a particular pathogen;
• high sensitivity – from 10 to 100 cells in one sample is enough to obtain a positive result.

The method of taking a PCR analysis  in men directly depends on the type of clinical material being submitted.

Determining the type of biomaterial:

• through suspicion of a certain type of infection;
• through clinical signs of disease.

PCR smear is collected in men most often and allows you to establish infections of urogenital origin. Using a special probe, the sample is removed from the urethra. The procedure is painless.

PCR ejaculate is needed to determine the disease in case of damage to the appendages or testicles. It is taken from the urethra of the genitourinary system.

Urine PCR makes it possible to obtain information about the localization of infection in the ureters, bladder, and kidneys. This diagnosis is more informative for sexually transmitted infections, and a smear is better for protozoal, fungal or bacterial etiology.

PCR of prostate secretion is optional, requiring a small amount of secretion released through the urethra as a result of manual stimulation of the prostate gland.

The analysis is prescribed in case of reasonable suspicion of the development of prostatitis. The sampling of the material occurs as a result of the collection in a special container of the secret released through the urethra, as a result of stimulation of the prostate gland.

PCR swab from the anus is required when:

• found clinical signs of proctitis;
• in the presence of same-sex sexual contacts in the anamnesis;
• in the presence of condylomas in the anorectal region.

Donating blood for PCR diagnostic method does not require special preparation. As in most cases, it is desirable to donate blood in the morning, withstanding at least 8 hours of fasting. It is forbidden to smoke an hour before the procedure, to drink alcohol the day before the analysis.

To get reliable results, a man needs to properly prepare for a smear test:

• before taking the biomaterial, do not urinate for at least 3 hours;
• refuse to have sex for at least two days before the analysis;
• before diagnosis, do not use antiseptics and antibiotics.

When can I get results?

The time for obtaining diagnostic results may vary depending on the type of clinic and tests. For a regular cytological smear, the results come within one to two days. Digen testing lasts from 1 to 2 weeks. The results of PCR screening  can be obtained at a cross section of 3 days.

Each laboratory provides transcribed results in the form of a table indicating acceptable limits. These data should be transferred to the attending physician, who will deal with their decoding. Based on this information, the doctor establishes a clear diagnosis and prescribes effective treatment.

Where is it carried out and how is it taken?

Diagnosis for the presence of the papillomavirus in the body is the right decision, but it is not worth it more than once a year. Tests can be taken at any medical facility where there is a venereologist or urologist on staff. However, it is better to choose an institution based on the competence of the doctors working there, the reputation of the medical institution itself.

Another criterion is the availability of special modern medical equipment, since the equipment is expensive and not available in every clinic.

Price

The price lies in the complexity of the diagnosis, the chosen technique, such as HPV. On average, the cost of the simplest tests is from 300 to 500 rubles. per procedure, and more comprehensive studies using modern equipment will cost at least 3 thousand rubles.

Conclusion

A referral to a specialist is mandatory in case of a positive result in the diagnosis of HPV. Ignoring the fact that the papilloma pathogen is in the body is extremely dangerous, since the virus can turn into an oncological disease.

To give a correct assessment of the results of the tests, to decide on the need for antiviral therapy, as well as the development of a therapeutic regimen and recommendations for strengthening the patient’s immunity is given only by a doctor.

Getting rid of this very unpleasant ailment is possible only if all the recommendations prescribed by the doctor are followed.