Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2023;45(11):729-744
To review the current state of knowledge on the impact of the surgical treatment on the sexual function and dyspareunia of deep endometriosis patients.
A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. We conducted systematic searches in the PubMed, EMBASE, LILACS, and Web of Science databases from inception until December 2022. The eligibility criteria were studies including: preoperative and postoperative comparative analyses; patients with a diagnosis of deep endometriosis; and questionnaires to measure sexual quality of life.
Two reviewers screened and reviewed 1,100 full-text articles to analyze sexual function after the surgical treatment for deep endometriosis. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for observational studies and the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for randomized controlled trials. The present study was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; registration CRD42021289742).
General variables about the studies, the surgical technique, complementary treatments, and questionnaires were inserted in an Microsoft Excel 2010 (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, United States) spreadsheet.
We included 20 studies in which the videolaparoscopy technique was used for the excision of deep infiltrating endometriosis. A meta-analysis could not be performed due to the substantial heterogeneity among the studies. Classes III and IV of the revised American Fertility Society classification were predominant and multiple surgical techniques for the treatment of endometriosis were performed. Standardized and validated questionnaires were applied to evaluate sexual function.
Laparoscopic surgery is a complex procedure that involves multiple organs, and it has been proved to be effective in improving sexual function and dyspareunia in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2022;44(10):972-985
Different drugs are used to treat mastalgia, such as danazol and bromocriptine, and both are associated with side effects, due to which most of women and healthcare providers are interested in herbal medicines. Therefore we aim to study the effectiveness of phytoestrogens on the severity of cyclic mastalgia.
To carry out the present study, English electronic resources such as the Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed were used systematically and with no time limitation up to February 10, 2020.
In total, 20 studies were included in the present meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis showed that herbal medicines versus the control group (standard mean difference [SMD] = - 0.585; 95% confidence interval [CI]: - 0.728–- 0.44; heterogeneity; p = 0.02; I2 = 42%), herbal medicines versus the B group (SMD = - 0.59; 95%CI: - 0.75–- 0.44; heterogeneity; p = 0.03; I2 = 42%), and its subgroups, such as phytoestrogen (SMD = - 0.691; 95%CI: - 0.82–- 0.55; heterogeneity; p = 0.669; I2 = 0%), Vitex-agnus-castus (SMD = - 0.642; 95%CI: - 0.84–- 0.44; p < 0.001; p = 203; I2 = 32%), flaxseed (SMD = - 0.63; 95%CI: - 0.901–- 0.367; p = 0.871; I2 = 0%), and evening primrose (SMD= - 0.485; 95%CI:- 0.84–- 0.12; p = 0.008; heterogeneity; p = 0.06; I2 = 56%] may have effective and helpful effects on improving cyclic breast mastalgia. Also, chamomile, isoflavone, cinnamon, and nigella sativa significantly reduced mastalgia symptoms.
Herbal medicines and their subgroups may have effective and helpful effects on improving cyclic breast mastalgia. The findings of our meta-analysis must be done cautiously because low methodological quality in some evaluated studies of this systematic review.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2022;44(9):845-853
To develop a protocol for hybrid low-risk prenatal care adapted to Brazilian guidelines, merging reduced face-to-face consultations and remote monitoring.
The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched on telemedicine and antenatal care perspectives and adaptation of the low-risk prenatal care protocols recommended by the Ministry of Health and by the Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Associations.
Five relevant articles and three manuals were included in the review, for presented criteria to develop this clinical guideline. We identified, in these studies, that the schedule of consultations is unevenly distributed among the gestational trimesters, and ranges from 7 to 14 appointments. In general, the authors propose one to two appointments in the first trimester, two to three appointments in the second trimester, and two to six appointments in the third trimester. Only three studies included puerperal evaluations. The routine exams recommended show minimal variations among authors. To date, there are no validated Brazilian protocols for prenatal care by telemedicine. The included studies showed that pregnant women were satisfied with this form of care, and the outcomes of interest, except for hypertensive diseases, were similar between the groups exposed to traditional and hybrid prenatal care.
The presented guideline comprises the Ministry of Health recommendations for low-risk prenatal care and reduces exposure to the hospital environment and care costs. A randomized clinical trial, to be developed by this group, will provide real-world data on safety, effectiveness, satisfaction, and costs.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2022;44(1):74-82
To compare the perinatal outcomes of fetuses with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia after fetal endoscopic tracheal occlusion (FETO) and antenatal expectant management.
In this rapid review, searches were conducted in the MEDLINE, PMC, EMBASE and CENTRAL databases between August 10th and September 4th, 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs or cluster-RCTs published in English in the past ten years were included.
We retrieved 203 publications; 180 studies were screened by abstract. Full-text selection was performed for eight studies, and 1 single center RCTmet the inclusion criteria (41 randomized women; 20 in the FETO group, and 21 in the control group).
Data collection was performed independently, by both authors, in two steps (title and abstract and full-text reading).
There were no cases of maternal mortality. The mean gestational age at delivery was of 35.6±2.4 weeks in the intervention group, and of 37.4±1.9 weeks among the controls (p<0.01). Survival until 6 months of age was reported in 50% of the intervention group, and in 5.8% of the controls (p<0.01; relative risk: 10.5; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.5-74.7). Severe postnatal pulmonary hypertension was found in 50% of the infants in the intervention group, and in 85.7% of controls (p=0.02; relative risk: 0.6; 95%CI: 0.4-0.9). An analysis of the study indicated some concerns of risk of bias. The quality of evidence was considered moderate to low.
Current evidence is limited but suggests that FETO may be an effective intervention to improve perinatal outcomes.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2022;44(5):503-510
To evaluate the impact of surgical treatment of deep infiltrative endometriosis (DIE) on pelvic floor dysfunction (urinary incontinence [UI], pelvic organ prolapse [POP], fecal incontinence [FI)] or constipation, and sexual function [dyspareunia]).
The present systematic review was performed in the PubMed database. For the selection of studies, articles should be published by January 5, 2021, without language restriction.
Six randomized controlled studies that evaluated surgical treatment for DIE and the comparison of different surgical techniques were included.
The studies were selected independently by title and abstract by two authors. Disagreements were resolved by a third author. All included studies were also evaluated according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the quality of the evidence was analyzed using the GRADE criteria. Subgroup analysis by different treatments and follow-up periods was also performed.
Six studies were included in the quantitative analysis. The risk of bias between studies showed an uncertain risk of bias for most studies, with concealment of allocation being the least reported category. The quality of the evidence was considered low. High heterogeneity was found between the studies. No study has evaluated UI or POP comparatively before and after surgery.
Dyspareunia and FI have improved after the surgical procedure, but it was not possible to demonstratewhich surgical technique was related to these outcomes as there was surgical heterogeneity. This diversity was found across data, with the recommendation of future prospective studies addressing pelvic floor disorders withDIE.