Koilocytes with dyskeratosis and perinuclear halo on pap smear is pathognomonic of which of the following?
High-Yield Explanation
The presence of abnormal koilocytes (keratinocytes with pyknotic, deeply blue nuclei surrounded by a halo and clear cytoplasm with a paucity of keratohyaline granules), or koilocytosis, is a characteristic feature of productive HPV infection. Other cytologic markers of HPV infection include acanthosis, dyskeratosis, and multinucleation. Virus multiplication is confined to the host cell nucleus. Consequently, infected cells exhibit a high degree of nuclear atypia.