Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2014;36(11):481-483
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2014;36(11):503-508
DOI 10.1590/S0100-720320140005081
To evaluate variations in the body mass index in patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, and to associate these changes with patient's age and adjuvant chemotherapy regimen.
We performed a retrospective cohort study in order to correlate any variation in the body mass index before and after adjuvant chemotherapy with patient's age and adjuvant chemotherapy regimen. Patients who received any form of prior hormone therapy, such as tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, were excluded. We selected data for 196 patients with stage I to III breast cancer who were treated by radical or conservative surgery and received adjuvant chemotherapy at the Cancer Institute of the State of São Paulo, Brazil.
Before adjuvant chemotherapy, 67.8% of patients were classified as overweight or obese according to their body mass indices. Around 66.3% (95% CI 59.7–73.0) of the patients exhibited an increase in the body mass index after adjuvant chemotherapy. The average age of all patients was 56.3±11.3 years. Participants whose body mass index increased were younger than those with no increase (54.7±11.1 versus 59.3±11.2 years; p=0.007). Patients were treated with the following adjuvant chemotherapy regimens: doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and paclitaxel (AC-T, 129 patients, 65.8%); 5-fluoracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (36 patients, 18.4%); cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluoracil (16 patients, 8.2%); docetaxel and cyclophosphamide (7 patients, 3.6%); and other regimen (8 patients, 4.1%). The AC-T regimen showed a statistically significant association with increase in the body mass index (p<0.001 by ANOVA).
Most patients with breast cancer showed an increase in the body mass index after adjuvant chemotherapy, especially after the AC-T chemotherapy regimen.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2014;36(11):509-513
DOI 10.1590/S0100-720320140005024
To evaluate the influence of maternal obesity on pregnancy, childbirth, and neonatal outcomes.
A cross-sectional study with 298 postpartum women. Information was obtained through interviews and access to patients' medical records. The patients were divided into three groups according to their pre-gestational body mass index: normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2), and obese (≥30.0 kg/m2). Data are reported as adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval (95%CI) following multinomial logistic regression analysis to account for confounding variables.
Compared to pregnant women with normal body mass index, overweight women had greater chances of having cesarean delivery, odds ratio (OR) of 2.2 and 95%CI 1.3–3.9, and obese women even more (OR=4.2; 95%CI 2.1–8.1). The chances of gestational diabetes increased in the Overweight (OR=2.5; 95%CI 1.1–5.6) and Obese groups (OR=11.1; 95%CI 5.0–24.6). The occurrence of hypertensive syndrome was also higher in overweight (OR=3.2; 95%CI 1.2–8.1) and obese pregnant women (OR=7.5; 95%CI 2.9–19.1). Major postpartum hemorrhage only showed greater values in the obese women group (OR=4.1; 95%CI 1.1–15.8). Regarding the newborns, the probability of a low Apgar score at first minute was higher in the Obese Group (OR=5.5; 95%CI 1.2–23.7) and chances of macrosomia were higher in the Overweight Group (OR=2.9; 95%CI 1.3–6.3). Data regarding neonatal hypoglycemia were not conclusive.
Excessive weight (overweight and obesity) during pregnancy increases the chance of maternal complications (gestational diabetes, hypertensive syndrome, and major postpartum hemorrhage) and neonatal outcomes (cesarean delivery, macrosomia, and low Apgar score).
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2014;36(11):514-518
DOI 10.1590/S0100-720320140005007
To describe the epidemiologic and obstetric characteristics of women with recurrent miscarriages.
A descriptive and analytical study whose inclusion criterion was every woman that was attended at the clinic for recurrent miscarriage (loss group), between January 2006 and December 2010. Patients that did not live in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and those who were not reached by telephone or whose number was not included in the medical record were not included. The Control Group consisted of 204 pregnant women seen at the low-risk prenatal care unit between May 2007 and April 2008. Women who did not accept to be interviewed and those with obstetric risk were excluded from the Control Group. The analyzed variables were: age, education, occupation, marital status, alcohol consumption, body mass index, obstetric history and the gestational age when the losses occurred. The SPSS 18.0 program was used for statistical analysis. Means and standard deviations of continuous variables were compared using the Student's t-test and the frequencies of the nominal variables were compared by the χ2 test.
The mean age of women in the loss group was higher than in the Control Group (32.3±6.3 versus 26.5±6.4 years old, p<0.01). Consumption of alcoholic beverages predominated in the loss group (36.9 versus 22.1%, p=0.01), as well as marital status (93.2 versus 66.7% were married or living in a stable union, p<0.01). The pre-pregnancy body mass index was higher in the loss group (26.9 versus 23.5%, p<0.01). Regarding obstetric history, 103 women with recurrent miscarriage reported 334 pregnancies. Fifty-six of them had 2 or more miscarriages in the first quarter and in 31 of them, 2 or more pregnancies progressed to late abortions/extremely preterm infants.
Some risk factors were identified in women with recurrent losses, such as more advanced age and higher body mass index. These observations agree with more recent proposals regarding recurrent losses that consider the inclusion of losses in various gestational ages.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2014;36(11):519-524
DOI 10.1590/S0100-720320140005100
To validate a questionnaire to be applied in order to learn and describe the perceptions of specialists in obstetrics and gynecology about their experience and self-confidence in the emergency care for vaginal delivery.
This was a prospective study for the validation of an instrument that contains statements about emergency obstetrical care: breech delivery (n=23), shoulder dystocia (n=20), postpartum haemorrhage (n=24), forceps delivery (n=32), and vacuum extractor (n=5). Participants gave their opinions on each item by applying the Likert scale (0=strongly disagree, 1=partially disagree, 2=indifferent, 3=partially agree and 4=strongly agree). The questionnaire was applied to 12 specialists in obstetrics and gynecology and it was expected to be found a level of comprehension exceeding 80%. A five-point scale was used to assess the understanding of each question (from 0=did not understand anything to 5=understood perfectly and I have no doubt). A score above 4 was considered to indicate sufficient understanding. The instrument used was specially designed to suit the specific demands. The analysis of internal reliability was done using the Cronbach alpha coefficient. For external validation, we calculated the proportion of items with full understanding for each subscale. For research purposes, the alpha should be greater than 0.7.
Participants had a mean age of 33.3 years, with 5.0 standard deviation (SD), and an average interval time since graduation from medical school of 5.8 years (SD=1.3 years). All were specialists with residency in obstetrics and gynecology. The mean proportion of participants who fully understood the items in each emergency was 97.3% for breech delivery, 96.7% for shoulder dystocia, 99.7% for postpartum hemorrhage, 97.4% for forceps delivery, and 98.3% for the use of a vacuum extractor. The results of Cronbach's alpha for the items in each emergency studied were: 0.85 for breech delivery, with 0.72 lower limit of 95% confidence interval ((%%CI), 0.74 for shoulder dystocia (lower limit of 95%CI=0.51), 0.79 for postpartum hemorrhage (lower limit of 95%CI=0.61), 0.96 for forceps delivery (lower limit of 95%CI=0.92), and 0.90 for the vacuum extractor (lower limit of 95%CI=0.79).
The validated questionnaire is useful for learning and describing the perception of physicians about their experience and self-confidence in emergency care for vaginal births.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2014;36(11):525-526
DOI 10.1590/SO100-720320140005133