Interpretation of genital findings in microbicide safety trials: review of the 'Photo Atlas for Microbicide Evaluation'.

The Photo Atlas for Microbicide Evaluation was published in May 2002 for distribution among researchers to be used as a training or reference document during microbicide clinical trials. We have reviewed the contents of the Photo Atlas, including the interpretation and documentation of genital findings. The rationale for the categorization of genital lesions into different lesion types is also discussed. Efforts will continue to standardize colposcopy until more accurate and objective methods become available to assess the safety of candidate microbicides.