The Burden of HPV-Related Hospitalizations: Analysis of Hospital Discharge Records from the Years 2015-2021 from a Southern Italian Region

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 725
• Main Authors: Di Martino, Giuseppe, Cedrone, Fabrizio, Di Giovanni, Pamela, Tognaccini, Livia, Trebbi, Edoardo, Romano, Ferdinando, Staniscia, Tommaso
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17.05.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Admission and discharge; Anogenital; Brief Report; Cancer; Care and treatment; Cervical cancer; Codes; Condyloma acuminatum; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 vaccines; Diagnosis; Disease transmission; Epidemiology; Evaluation; Females; Genital cancers; Genotypes; Head & neck cancer; hospital admissions; Hospital care; Hospitalization; Hospitals; HPV; Human papillomavirus; Immunization; Industrialized nations; Infections; Italy; Pandemics; Papillomavirus infections; Patients; Penis; prevention; Risk; Sexually transmitted diseases; Statistical analysis; STD; Trends; Vaccination; Warts; Italy; United States > US; epidemiology; Italy; cancer; hospital admissions; prevention; HPV
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12050725

(1) Background: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common agent related to sexually transmitted infections in the general population. Its genotypes are classified into two main classes, high-risk genotypes and low-risk genotypes, according to their capacity to induce cancers. The low-risk class (types 6 and 11) is associated with anogenital and genital lesions. The high-risk class is responsible for up to 4.5% of all new cancer cases yearly. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of HPV-related hospitalizations and its trend in a southern Italian region for the years 2015-2021. (2) Methods: This was a retrospective study performed in the Abruzzo region, Italy. All admissions for the period 2015-2021 were extracted from the hospital discharge record (HDR). (3) Results: During the study period (2015-2021), a total of 5492 hospitalizations attributable to HPV infection occurred in the Abruzzo region, Italy. A significant number of admissions were related to cervical cancer (3386 cases) and genital warts (638 cases). The trend declined for all diagnoses except for penile cancer admissions. Considering the first year of the pandemic (year 2020), a decrease in the standardized incidence of the majority of the diseases considered was reported, particularly among cases of cervical cancer. (4) Conclusions: HPV-related hospitalizations decreased in Abruzzo during study period. These results could be useful to LHAs and policy-makers in improving vaccination coverage and screening adherence.