Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Jun 2022
A County Hospital Experience with Reproductive Travelers to the United States for Obstetric Care: Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes.
Objective: To describe the maternal and neonatal outcomes, health care utilization, and cost to reproductive travelers for obstetric care (RTOC) at a single institution. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of women identified as reproductive travelers who delivered at Stroger Hospital in Chicago, IL when a self-pay package of obstetrical services was offered. Data included maternal characteristics and obstetric and neonatal outcomes. ⋯ Extra charges beyond those covered by the financial package were incurred by 230 (55.7%) of the women. Conclusion: Reproductive travelers have better obstetric outcomes and fewer NICU admissions than non-travelers who delivered at the same institution. However, the care of RTOC in this manner is fraught with challenges, including late presentation for care, lack of medical records, providers at times managing unfamiliar conditions, and unforeseen financial obligations assumed by patients.
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Journal of women's health · Jun 2022
Excessive Gestational Weight Gain and Long-Term Maternal Cardiovascular Risk Profile: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.
Background: Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is consistently linked with maternal risk of obesity. However, the literature on its long-term cardiovascular risk is minimal and conflicting. We evaluated whether excessive GWG is associated with a high-risk cardiovascular profile among parous women in midlife. ⋯ Longitudinal models estimated that at a mean age of 67, women with a history of excessive GWG had a 9.8% (9.2, 10.5) 10-year ASCVD risk, compared to 9.5% (8.9, 10.1) for those without, and mean CRP of 2.20 mg/L (1.89, 2.57) versus 1.85 mg/L (1.61, 2.14), respectively, adjusted for participant characteristics. Conclusions: In this multiethnic cohort of parous women, a history of excessive GWG was associated with a small, but statistically significant difference in ASCVD risk, and a moderate, statistically significant difference in CRP across midlife. More research is necessary to understand the mechanistic pathway between excessive GWG and long-term maternal cardiovascular health.
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The goal in selecting these recent articles was to help identify literature that may change the clinical practice of women's health for practitioners in the primary care setting. Articles were identified by reviewing high-impact medical and women's health journals, national guidelines, ACP JournalWise, and NEJM Journal Watch. ⋯ The decision to initiate menopausal hormone therapy is influenced by estimation of underlying vascular risk, and new data suggest that CVD risk scores are more accurate in predicting CVD risk than the traditionally used age and years since menopause and should be incorporated into counseling. Finally, new data support the growing belief that breast arterial calcification on mammography is a promising noninvasive marker that can enhance CVD risk prediction in women.
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Journal of women's health · Jun 2022
Cardiovascular Risk Factor Profiles, Emergency Department Visits, and Hospitalizations for Women and Men with a History of Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Background: The relationship between cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVD-RFs) and health care utilization may differ by sex. We determined whether having more CVD-RFs was associated with all-cause emergency department (ED) visits and all-cause hospitalizations for women and men with prior stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA). Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we used nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2012-2015) data for persons aged ≥18 years with a prior stroke/TIA. ⋯ There was no association between CVD-RF scores and either outcome for men. Conclusions: Women, but not men, with high and intermediate CVD-RF profiles had increased odds of all-cause ED visits; women with high CVD-RF profiles had increased odds of all-cause hospitalizations. The burden of CVD-RFs may be a sex-specific predictor of higher health care utilization in women with a history of stroke/TIA.
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Journal of women's health · Jun 2022
Vaginal Pessary for Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A French Multidisciplinary Survey.
Objective: Pessary fitting and follow-up for women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) can be performed by different health care practitioners (HCPs). We aimed to investigate knowledge and current practices among the main HCPs involved in pessary use in France. Materials and Methods: We sent an electronic questionnaire about pessary use to the members of eight French learned societies between April and October 2020. ⋯ The need for training ranged from 42.8% for nurses to 65.2% for general practitioners. Conclusions: This national multidisciplinary survey revealed that HCPs in France are on the whole comfortable with pessaries and mainly prescribe the ring and cube form. Even if opinion about pessaries appears to be changing, HCPs would welcome additional training to improve knowledge and practices.