Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):155-157
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):158-164
To describe the evolution of maternal mortality right after the establishment of maternal death committees in the region of the city of Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo, Brazil.
The present study describes the spatial and temporal distribution of maternal mortality frequencies and rates, using data from the state of São Paulo, the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, and its Regional Health Department (DRS-XIII) from 1998 to 2017. The present ecological study considered the maternal mortality and live birth frequencies made available by the Computer Science Department of the Brazilian Unified Health System (Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde, DATASUS, in the Portuguese acronym)/Ministry of Health, which were grouped by year and political-administrative division (the state of São Paulo, the DRS-XIII, and the city of Ribeirão Preto). The maternal mortality rate (MMR) was calculated and presented through descriptive measures, graphs, and cartograms.
The overall MMR observed for the city of Ribeirão Preto was of 39.1; for the DRS-XIII, it was of of 40.4; and for the state of São Paulo, it was of 43.8 for every 100 thousand live birhts. During this period, the MMR for the city of Ribeirão Preto ranged from 0% to 80% of the total maternal mortalities, and from 40.7% to 47.2% of live births in the DRS-XIII. The city of Ribeirao Preto had an MMR of 76.5 in 1998and 1999, which decreased progressively to 12.1 until the years of 2012 and 2013, and increased to 54.3 for every 100 thousand live births over the past 4 years. The state of São Paulo State had an MMR of 54.0 in 1998-1999, which varied throughout the study period, with values pregnancy of 48.0 in 2008-2009, and 54.1 for every 100 thousand live births in 2016-2017. Several times before 2015, the city of Ribeirão Preto and the DRS-XIII reached the Millennium Goals. Recently, however, the MMR increased, which can be explained by the improvement in the surveillance of maternal mortality.
The present study describes a sharp decline in maternal death in the region of Ribeirão Preto by the end of 2012-2013, and a subsequent and distressing increase in recent years that needs to be fully faced.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):165-171
To describe the obstetric outcomes of patients withmultiple sclerosis (MS) and the impact of pregnancy and the postpartum period on the progression of the disease.
A case series study performed between December 2019 and February 2020, reporting pregnancies occurred between 1996 and 2019. The subjects included were women with MS undergoing follow-up at an MS referral center in Northeastern Brazil, and who had at least one pregnancy after the onset of MS symptoms, or who had their first relapse in the first year after delivery.
In total, 26 women and 38 pregnancies were analyzed - 32 of them resulted in delivery, and the remaining 6, in miscarriages. There was a significant increase in the prevalence of relapse during the postpartum period when compared with the gestational period. In 16 (42.1%) of the pregnancies, there was exposure to diseasemodifying therapies (DMTs) - 14 (36.8%), to interferon β, and 2 (5.3%), to fingolimod. Higher rates of abortion, prematurity and low birth weight were reported in the group was exposed to DMT when compared with the one who was not.
In the sample of the present study, there was a significant increase in the rate of MS relapse during the postpartum period when compared with the gestational period. Additionally, it seems that exposure to DMTs during pregnancy may affect the obstetric outcomes of the patients.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):172-177
To evaluate the acceptability of postplacental placement of intrauterine devices (PPIUD), reasons for refusal and suggested policies to increase its use.
Cross-sectional study conducted at the Women Hospital of the Universidade de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil. Postplacental placement of intrauterine devices was offered to women admitted in labor who did not present infections, uterinemalformation, twin pregnancy, preterm birth, and were at least 18 years old. In case of refusal, the parturient was asked to give their reasons and the answers were classified as misinformation about contraception or other reasons. The following were considered misinformation: fear of pain, bleeding, contraception failure and future infertility. Bivariate analysis was performed.
Amongst 241 invited women, the refusal rate was of 41.9%. Misinformation corresponded to 50.5% of all refusals, and the reasons were: fear of pain (39.9%); fear of contraception failure (4.9%); fear of bleeding (3.9%); fear of future infertility (1.9%); other reasons for refusal were 49.5%. Parturients aged between 18 and 27 years old refused the PPIUD more frequently due to misinformation (67.4%), and older parturients (between 28 and 43 years old) refused frequently due to other reasons (63.6%) (p=0.002). Themean age of those who declined the PPIUD due to misinformation was 27.3 ± 6.4 years old, while those who declined for other reasons had a mean age of 29.9 ± 5.9 years old (p=0.017).
The refusal of the PPIUD was high, especially amongst young women and due to misinformation. It is necessary to develop educative measures during antenatal care to counsel women about contraception, reproductive health and consequences of unintended pregnancy.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):178-184
The present study aimed to explore the opinion and ethical consideration of vulvovaginal aesthetics procedures (VVAPs) among health professionals and medical students in Saudi Arabia.
This is a cross-sectional study performed between January 2020 and April 2020. Data was collected through electronic media, WhatsApp, and emails. The results were analyzed by applying the Students t-test, and correlations were considered significant if they presented a p-value<0.05.
There is significant demand to educate doctors, health professionals, medical students, and gynecologists for the VVAPs to have a solid foundation, justified indications, and knowledge about various aesthetic options. Although female doctors, medical students, young doctors, and gynecologists have more knowledge about VVAPs, all health professionals ought to be aware of recent trends in vulvovaginal aesthetics (VVA). The present analysis determined that VVA should be under the domain of gynecologists, rather than under that of plastic surgeons, general surgeons, and cosmetologists. Themajority of the participants considered that vaginal rejuvenation, “G-spot” augmentation, clitoral surgery, and hymenoplasty are not justifiable on medical grounds.
The decision to opt for different techniques for vaginal tightening and revitalization should be taken very carefully, utilizing the shared decision-making approach. Ethical aspects and moral considerations are important key factors before embarking in the VVAPs purely for cosmetic reasons. Further research is required to determine the sexual, psychological, and body image outcomes for women who underwent elective VVAPs. Moreover, medical educators must consider VVAPs as part of the undergraduate and postgraduate medical curriculum.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):185-189
The objective of the present study was to analyze the reasons that led to hormone therapies (HTs) regimen changes in women with breast cancer.
This was a retrospective cross-sectional study from a single-institution Brazilian cancer center with patient records diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2012 and January 2017.
From 1,555 women who were in treatment with HT, 213 (13.7%) women had HT switched, either tamoxifen to anastrozole or vice-versa. Most women included in the present study who switched HT were > 50 years old, postmenopausal, Caucasian, and had at least one comorbidity. From the group with therapy change, ‘disease progression’ was reason of change in 124 (58.2%) cases, and in 65 (30.5%) patients, ‘presence of side effects’ was the reason. From those women who suffered with side effects, 24 (36.9%) had comorbidities.
The present study demonstrated a low rate of HT switch of tamoxifen to anastrozole. Among the reasons for changing therapy, the most common was disease progression, which includes cancer recurrence, metastasis or increased tumor. Side effects were second; furthermore, age and comorbidities are risk factors for side effects.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):190-199
To compare hand-held breast ultrasound (HHBUS) and automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) as screening tool for cancer.
A cross-sectional study in patients with mammographically dense breasts was conducted, and both HHBUS and ABUS were performed. Hand-held breast ultrasound was acquired by radiologists and ABUS by mammography technicians and analyzed by breast radiologists. We evaluated the Breast Imaging Reporting and
(BI-RADS) classification of the exam and of the lesion, as well as the amount of time required to perform and read each exam. The statistical analysis employed was measures of central tendency and dispersion, frequencies, Student t test, and a univariate logistic regression, through the odds ratio and its respective 95% confidence interval, and with p<0.05 considered of statistical significance.
Atotal of 440 patientswere evaluated. Regarding lesions,HHBUS detected 15 (7.7%) BI-RADS 2, 175 (89.3%) BI-RADS 3, and 6 (3%) BI-RADS 4, with 3 being confirmed by biopsy as invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs), and 3 false-positives. Automated breast ultrasound identified 12 (12.9%) BI-RADS 2, 75 (80.7%) BI-RADS 3, and 6 (6.4%) BI-RADS 4, including 3 lesions detected by HHBUS and confirmed as IDCs, in addition to 1 invasive lobular carcinoma and 2 high-risk lesions not detected by HHBUS. The amount of time required for the radiologist to read the ABUS was statistically inferior compared with the time required to read the HHBUS (p<0.001). The overall concordance was 80.9%. A total of 219 lesions were detected, from those 70 lesions by both methods, 126 only by HHBUS (84.9% not suspicious by ABUS) and 23 only by ABUS.
Compared with HHBUS, ABUS allowed adequate sonographic study in supplemental screening for breast cancer in heterogeneously dense and extremely dense breasts.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2021;43(3):200-206
Covid-19 became a pandemic, and researchers have not been able to establish a treatment algorithm. The pregnant population is also another concern for health care professionals. There are physiological changes related to pregnancy that result in different laboratory levels, radiological findings and disease progression. The goal of the present article is to determine whether the laboratory results and radiological findings were different in non-pregnant women (NPWs) of reproductive age and pregnant women (PWs) diagnosed with the Covid-19 infection.
Out of 34 patients, 15 (44.11%) PWs and 19 (55.8%) NPWs were included in the study. Age, comorbidities, complaints, vitals, respiratory rates, computed tomography (CT) findings and stages, as well as laboratory parameters, were recorded from the hospital database.
Themean age of the PWs was of 27.6 ± 0.99 years, and that of the NPWs was of 37.63 ± 2.00; when agewas compared between the groups, a statistically significant difference (p=0.001) was found. The mean systolic blood pressure of the PWs was of 116.53 ± 11.35, and that of the NPWs was of 125.53 ± 13.00, and their difference was statistically significant (p=0.05). The difference in the minimum respiratory rates of the patients was also statistically significant (p=0.05). The platelet levels observed among the PWs with Covid-19 were lower than those of the NPWs (185.40 ± 39.09 x 109/mcL and 232.00 ± 71.04 x 109/mcL respectively; p=0.05). The mean D-dimer value of the PWs was lower in comparison to that of the NPWs (p<0.05).
The laboratory findings and imaging studiesmay differ between pregnant and non-pregnant populations. It is important to properly interpret these studies. Future studies with a higher number of patients are required to confirm these preliminary data.