Abstract:Objective To investigate the changes of vaginal flora in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) Ⅲ and its relationship with recurrence after loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP).Methods Totally 432 patients with CIN Ⅲ who underwent LEEP in our hospital from March 2016 to August 2020 were selected as the disease group, and 420 healthy women who underwent physical examination in the same period were selected as the control group. Collecting vaginal secretions to detect vaginal flora indicators [flora density, flora diversity, mold, trichomonas, lactobacillus, Nugent score, pH value, leukocyte esterase (LE), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), sialidase (SNA), β-glucuronidase (GUS), β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG)], and the vaginal flora indicators between the disease group and the control group were compared. The patients in the disease group were followed up for 2 years after operation, and they were divided into recurrence group and non-recurrence group according to the recurrence of the patients in the disease group. The changes of vaginal flora in the recurrence group and the non-recurrence group before operation and 6 months after operation were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of recurrence after LEEP in patients with CIN Ⅲ.Results The proportions of abnormal flora density, abnormal flora diversity, mold (+), trichomonas (+), Nugent score >7 points, pH value >4.6, LE (+), H2O2 (+), SNA (+), GUS (+) in the disease group before operation were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05), and the proportion of lactobacillus (+) was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the proportion of NAG (+) between the two groups (P>0.05). A total of 432 patients with CIN Ⅲ were followed up for 2 years after LEEP, and the recurrence rate was 9.49%. There was no significant difference in the proportion of NAG (+) between the recurrence group and the non-recurrence group before operation and 6 months after operation (P>0.05). The proportions of abnormal flora density, abnormal flora diversity, mold (+), trichomonad (+), Nugent score >7 points, pH value >4.6, LE (+), H2O2 (+), SNA (+) and GUS (+) in the recurrent group and the non-recurrent group at 6 months after operation were lower than those before operation (P<0.05), and the proportion of lactobacillus (+) was higher than that before operation (P<0.05). At 6 months after operation, the proportions of abnormal flora density, abnormal flora diversity, Nugent score >7 points, pH value >4.6, LE (+), SNA (+) and GUS (+) in the recurrence group were higher than those in the non-recurrence group (P<0.05), and the proportion of lactobacillus (+) was lower than that in the non-recurrence group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that abnormal flora density, abnormal flora diversity, Nugent score >7 points, pH value >4.6, LE (+), SNA (+), GUS (+) at 6 months after operation and menopause, high load of preoperative high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV), involvement of glands and positive surgical margin were all risk factors for recurrence of CIN Ⅲ patients after LEEP (P<0.05), while lactobacillus (+) was the protective factor for it (P<0.05).Conclusion The imbalance of vaginal microbiota is closely related to the recurrence after LEEP in CIN Ⅲ patients. In addition, menopause, high load of preoperative HR-HPV, involvement of glands and positive surgical margin are all risk factors affecting the recurrence of LEEP in CIN Ⅲ patients. Clinical management can be targeted according to the above factors to reduce the risk of recurrence of CIN.