Acceptability and safety of thermal ablation for the treatment of precancerous cervical lesions in Honduras

Objective To evaluate the acceptability and safety of thermal ablation (TA) for the treatment of precancerous cervical lesions in women in Honduras. Methods Human papillomavirus (HPV) and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) screen-positive eligible women received TA. After treatment, women rated the level of pain experienced during treatment using the Wong-Baker FACES (R) pain-rating scale from 0 to 10. Short-term safety outcomes that could require medical attention were assessed one month after treatment. Results A total of 319 women received TA treatment. The average pain rating was 2.5 (95% CI: 2.3-2.8), and 85% rated their pain levels as less than 6. No significant differences in low (below 6) or high (6 and above) pain were found by age or number of biopsies performed, but there was a significant difference by the number of TA applications (P < 0.01). When asked if they would recommend this treatment, all women said they would. At the one-month follow-up visit, the most common reported discomforts were bleeding (10%) and cramping (8.4%); 11 women reported severe lower abdominal pain, and none required medical attention. Conclusions TA is safe and acceptable to patients as a treatment option for precancerous cervical lesions in low-resource settings.