American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Jun 2016
Mode of delivery after obstetric anal sphincter injury and the risk of long-term anal incontinence.
Primiparous women have an increased risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury; because most of these patients deliver again, there are major concerns about mode of delivery: the risk of recurrent obstetric anal sphincter injury and the risk of long-term symptoms of anal incontinence. Although an elective cesarean delivery protects against recurrent obstetric anal sphincter injury, it is uncertain how the second delivery affects the risk of long-term anal incontinence. ⋯ Mode of second delivery did not significantly affect the risk of long-term anal or fecal incontinence in multivariable analyses of patients with previous obstetric anal sphincter injury in this population in which patients with anal incontinence before the second pregnancy were recommended to have an elective cesarean delivery in the subsequent delivery. Nonetheless, we found that patients with vaginal delivery had a higher risk of deterioration of anal incontinence symptoms compared with those with an elective cesarean delivery.
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Jun 2016
Midurethral slings: evidence-based medicine vs the medicolegal system.
Midurethral sling procedures are minimally invasive surgeries for stress urinary incontinence that use a trocar system to place a narrow ribbon of polypropylene mesh under the midurethra. The peer-reviewed scientific literature on these procedures is abundant and midurethral slings are the most well-studied incontinence procedure ever. Systematic reviews of the literature demonstrate that midurethral slings are safer and more (or equally) effective as traditional procedures. ⋯ It is not inconceivable that midurethral slings could become absent from the US market. If that happens, then US women with stress urinary incontinence will be harmed because they will not have access in this country to the best and safest stress urinary incontinence surgical procedure ever developed. It may be time for the Institute of Medicine or another comparable national agency to provide evidence-based recommendations on the midurethral sling.
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Jun 2016
Maternal fat, but not lean, mass is increased among overweight/obese women with excess gestational weight gain.
Weight gain in pregnancy is an essential physiologic adaptation that supports growth and development of a fetus and is distributed among lean mass that includes total body water and fat mass gains. Although gestational weight gain provides a source of energy for the mother and fetus, excess gestational weight gain may underlie reported associations between parity and future metabolic disorders and is linked to postpartum weight retention and insulin resistance. Although weight gain often is proposed as a modifiable variable to mitigate adverse maternal and offspring health outcomes, our knowledge of specific maternal body composition changes with weight gain and the potential metabolic consequences is limited. Furthermore, although gestational weight gain alters maternal body composition, the impact of excess weight gain on fat and lean mass is not well-studied. Understanding the accrual of fat and lean body mass may improve our understanding of the role of excessive gestational weight gain and metabolic dysfunction. ⋯ Excess gestational weight gain is associated primarily with maternal fat, but not with lean body mass accrual. Our results may help explain the reason that excess gestational weight gain or fat mass accrual is associated with long-term obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and cardiovascular disease risk.
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Jun 2016
Ultrasound diagnosis and management of acquired uterine enhanced myometrial vascularity/arteriovenous malformations.
Arteriovenous malformation is a short circuit between an organ's arterial and venous circulation. Arteriovenous malformations are classified as congenital and acquired. In the uterus, they may appear after curettage, cesarean delivery, and myomectomy among others. Their clinical feature is usually vaginal bleeding, which may be severe, if curettage is performed in unrecognized cases. Sonographically on 2-dimensional grayscale ultrasound scanning, the pathologic evidence appears as irregular, anechoic, tortuous, tubular structures that show evidence of increased vascularity when color Doppler is applied. Most of the time they resolve spontaneously; however, if left untreated, they may require involved treatments such as uterine artery embolization or hysterectomy. In the past, uterine artery angiography was the gold standard for the diagnosis; however, ultrasound scanning has diagnosed successfully and helped in the clinical management. Recently, arteriovenous malformations have been referred to as enhanced myometrial vascularities. ⋯ Acquired enhanced myometrial vascularity/arteriovenous malformations occurred after unsuccessful pregnancies or treatment procedures that included uterine curettage, cesarean delivery, or cesarean scar pregnancy. Triage of patients for expectant treatment vs intervention with uterine artery embolization based on their clinical status, which was supplemented by objective measurements of blood velocity measurement in the arteriovenous malformation, appears to be a good predictor of outcome. Ultrasound evaluation of patients with early pregnancy failure and persistent bleeding should be considered for evaluation of a possible enhanced myometrial vascularity/arteriovenous malformation.
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · Jun 2016
Interactions with industry under the Sunshine Act: an example from gynecologic oncology.
Clinicians may be unaware that industry payments to physicians are now publicly searchable under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Furthermore, the extent of industry's financial involvement in subspecialty practice has not been previously accessible. As an example, 6948 direct, research-unrelated payments totaling $1,957,004 were made to 765 gynecologic oncologists in 2014, the first full year of data available. A total of 153 companies reported at least 1 payment; however, the 10 manufacturers reporting the highest total payment amount accounted for 82% of all payments to physicians. In all, 48 gynecologic oncologists received >$10,000 from manufacturers, accounting for $1,202,228, or 61%, of total payments. ⋯ Obstetrician-gynecologists, including gynecologic oncologists, should be aware of their publicly reported payments from industry and ensure reports' accuracy. Professional organizations, including the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO), should strongly consider proactively developing guidelines regarding interactions with industry for their general memberships.