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Lynn Sadler, MBChB, MPH; Audrey Saftlas, PhD; Wenquan Wang, PhD; Melissa Exeter, BHSc; John Whittaker, FRANZCOG; Lesley McCowan, MD

JAMA. 2004;291:2100-2106.

Context  It is unclear whether treatments for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) increase the subsequent risk of preterm delivery. Most studies have lacked sufficient sample size, mixed heterogeneous subtypes of preterm delivery, and failed to control for confounding factors.

Objective  To determine whether cervical laser and loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) treatments increase risk of preterm delivery and its subtypes.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Retrospective cohort study conducted among women evaluated at a colposcopy clinic serving Auckland, New Zealand (1988-2000), comparing delivery outcomes of untreated women (n = 426) and those treated (n = 652) with laser conization, laser ablation, or LEEP. Record linkage using unique health identifiers identified women who had subsequent deliveries.

Main Outcome Measures  Total preterm delivery and its subtypes, spontaneous labor and premature rupture of membranes before 37 weeks' gestation (pPROM).

Results  The overall rate of preterm delivery was 13.8%. The rate of pPROM was 6.2% and the rate of spontaneous preterm delivery was 3.8%. Analyses showed no significant increase in risk of total preterm delivery (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8-1.5) or spontaneous preterm delivery (aRR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.7-2.6) for any treatment. Risk of pPROM was significantly increased following treatment with laser conization (aRR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.3-5.6) or LEEP (aRR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.0-3.8), but not laser ablation (aRR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.5-2.4). Moreover, risk of pPROM and total preterm delivery increased significantly with increasing height of tissue removed from the cervix in conization. Women in the highest tertile of cone height (1.7 cm) had a greater than 3-fold increase in risk of pPROM compared with untreated women (aRR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.8-7.5).

Conclusions  LEEP and laser cone treatments were associated with significantly increased risk of pPROM. Careful consideration should be given to treatment of CIN in women of reproductive age, especially when treatment might reasonably be delayed or targeted to high-risk cases.

Author Affiliations: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland (Drs Sadler and McCowan and Ms Exeter) and National Women's Hospital (Dr Whittaker), Auckland, New Zealand; and Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City (Drs Saftlas and Wang).

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