The effects of a quality improvement project to reduce caesarean sections in selected private hospitals in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Brazil is one of the countries with the highest rates of caesarean sections (CS), reaching almost 90% of births in the private sector. A quality improvement project called "Adequate Childbirth Project (PPA)" was conceived to reduce CS in the private sector. This project consisted of four primary components: "Governance", "Participation of Women", "Reorganization of Care" and "Monitoring". This paper aims to evaluate: (1) which specific activities of the PPA had the largest effect on the probability of a woman having a vaginal delivery; (2) which primary component of the PPA had the largest effect on the probability of vaginal delivery and (3) which scenarios combining the implementation of different activities planned in the PPA had a higher effect on the probability of vaginal delivery. METHODS: A sample of 12 private hospitals participating in the PPA was evaluated. We used a Bayesian Network (BN) to capture both non-linearities and complex cause-effect relations. The BN integrated knowledge from experts and data from women to estimate 26 model parameters. The PPA was evaluated in 2473 women belonging to groups 1-4 of the Robson classification, who were divided into two groups: those participating or not participating in the PPA. RESULTS: The probability of a woman having a vaginal delivery was 37.7% higher in women participating in the PPA. The most important component of the project that led to an increase in the probability of vaginal delivery was "Reorganization of Care", leading to a 73% probability of vaginal delivery among women in labor. The activity that had the greatest effect on the type of delivery was access to best practices during labor, with a 72% probability of vaginal delivery. Considering the 12 scenarios combining the different activities of the PPA, the best scenarios included: a non-scheduled delivery, access to information about best practices, access to at least 4 best practices during labor and respect of the birth plan, with an 80% probability of vaginal delivery in the best combinations. CONCLUSION: PPA has been shown to be an effective quality improvement program, increasing the likelihood of vaginal delivery in private Brazilian hospitals.

INTRODUCTION: Brazil boasts one of the highest rates of caesarean sections (CS) globally, with nearly 90% of births in private facilities being delivered via CS. In response, the 'Adequate Childbirth Project ­ PPA' was launched as a quality improvement initiative aimed at curbing CS rates in private healthcare. Its goal is to improve the quality of childbirth and reduce the number of CS in private healthcare. The project has four main parts: 'Governance', 'Participation of Women', 'Reorganization of Care', and 'Monitoring'. METHOD: an evaluative study was conducted across 12 private hospitals involved in the PPA, involving 2473 women who were categorized into PPA participants and non-participants. They used a method called a cause-effect network to see which parts of the PPA helped more women have vaginal deliveries. RESULTS: They found that women in the PPA were 37.7% more likely to have a vaginal delivery. Giving women access to good practices during labor and birth was really important. Also, 'Reorganization of Care' was the most important part of the project. It led to a 73% chance of vaginal delivery for women in labor. CONCLUSION: The PPA is effective in helping more women in private hospitals have vaginal deliveries. This means it's a good program for improving childbirth in Brazil's private hospitals.

Screening and prevention of preterm birth: how is it done in clinical practice?

Objective: To ascertain how screening for preterm birth is performed among obstetricians working in public and private practice in a middle-income country. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 265 obstetrician-gynecologists employed at public and private facilities. An online questionnaire was administered, with items designed to collect data on prematurity screening and prevention practices. Results: The mean age of respondents was 44.5 years; 78.5% were female, and 97.7% had completed a medical residency program. Universal screening (i.e., by ultrasound measurement of cervical length) was carried out by only 11.3% of respondents in public practice; 43% request transvaginal ultrasound if the manual exam is abnormal, and 74.6% request it in pregnant women with risk factors for preterm birth. Conversely, 60.7% of respondents in private practice performed universal screening. This difference in screening practices between public and private practice was highly significant (p < 0.001). Nearly all respondents (90.6%) reported prescribing vaginal progesterone for short cervix. Conclusion: In the setting of this study, universal ultrasound screening to prevent preterm birth was used by just over half of doctors in private practice. In public facilities, screening was even less common. Use of vaginal progesterone in cervical shortening was highly prevalent. There is an unmet need for formal protocols for screening and prevention of preterm birth in middle-income settings.

An implementation analysis of a quality improvement project to reduce cesarean section in Brazilian private hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Brazil has one of the highest prevalence of cesarean sections in the world. The private health system is responsible for carrying out most of these surgical procedures. A quality improvement project called Adequate Childbirth Project ("Projeto Parto Adequado"- PPA) was developed to identify models of care for labor and childbirth, which place value on vaginal birth and reduce the frequency of cesarean sections without a clinical indication. This research aims to evaluate the implementation of PPA in private hospitals in Brazil. METHOD: Evaluative hospital-based survey, carried out in 2017, in 12 private hospitals, including 4,322 women. We used a Bayesian network strategy to develop a theoretical model for implementation analysis. We estimated and compared the degree of implementation of two major driving components of PPA-"Participation of women" and "Reorganization of care" - among the 12 hospitals and according to type of hospital (belonging to a health insurance company or not). To assess whether the degree of implementation was correlated with the rate of vaginal birth data we used the Bayesian Network and compared the difference between the group "Exposed to the PPA model of care" and the group "Standard of care model". RESULTS: PPA had a low degree of implementation in both components "Reorganization of Care" (0.17 - 0.32) and "Participation of Women" (0.21 - 0.34). The combined implementation score was 0.39-0.64 and was higher in hospitals that belonged to a health insurance company. The vaginal birth rate was higher in hospitals with a higher degree of implementation of PPA. CONCLUSION: The degree of implementation of PPA was low, which reflects the difficulties in changing childbirth care practices. Nevertheless, PPA increased vaginal birth rates in private hospitals with higher implementation scores. PPA is an ongoing quality improvement project and these results demonstrate the need for changes in the involvement of women and the care offered by the provider.

Screening and prevention of preterm birth: how is it done in clinical practice?

Abstract Objective: To ascertain how screening for preterm birth is performed among obstetricians working in public and private practice in a middle-income country. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 265 obstetrician-gynecologists employed at public and private facilities. An online questionnaire was administered, with items designed to collect data on prematurity screening and prevention practices. Results: The mean age of respondents was 44.5 years; 78.5% were female, and 97.7% had completed a medical residency program. Universal screening (i.e., by ultrasound measurement of cervical length) was carried out by only 11.3% of respondents in public practice; 43% request transvaginal ultrasound if the manual exam is abnormal, and 74.6% request it in pregnant women with risk factors for preterm birth. Conversely, 60.7% of respondents in private practice performed universal screening. This difference in screening practices between public and private practice was highly significant (p < 0.001). Nearly all respondents (90.6%) reported prescribing vaginal progesterone for short cervix. Conclusion: In the setting of this study, universal ultrasound screening to prevent preterm birth was used by just over half of doctors in private practice. In public facilities, screening was even less common. Use of vaginal progesterone in cervical shortening was highly prevalent. There is an unmet need for formal protocols for screening and prevention of preterm birth in middle-income settings.

Evaluation of Angiogenic Factors (PlGF and sFlt-1) in Pre-eclampsia Diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: Recent observations support the hypothesis that an imbalance between angiogenic factors has a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and is responsible for the clinical manifestations of the disease. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and the best accuracy level of Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), placental growth factor (PlGF), and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in maternal serum and protein/creatinine ratio in urine sample to define the best cutoff point of these tests to discriminate between the patients with gestational hypertension and the patients with pre-eclampsia, to evaluate the possibility of using them as diagnostic methods. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study was performed, and blood samples were collected from 95 pregnant patients with hypertension to measure serum concentrations of biomarkers sFlt-1 and PlGF. Urine samples were collected for protein screening. Significance was set as p < 0.05. RESULTS: The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio demonstrated a sensitivity of 57.5% and a specificity of 60% using 50.4 as a cutoff point. The test that showed the best accuracy in the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia was protein/creatinine ratio, with a sensitivity of 78.9% and a specificity of 70% using 0.4 as a cutoff point and showing an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: No studied laboratory test proved to be fairly accurate for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia, except for the protein/creatinine ratio. The evidence is insufficient to recommend biomarkers sFlt-1 and PlGF to be used for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia.

OBJETIVO: Pesquisas recentes sustentam a hipótese de que um desequilíbrio entre fatores angiogênicos desempenhe um papel fundamental na patogênese da pré-eclâmpsia e seja responsável pelas manifestações clínicas da doença. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a sensibilidade, a especificidade e o nível de melhor acurácia do Fator semelhante a tirosina quinase 1 (sFlt-1), Fator de crescimento placentário (PlGF), e relação sFlt-1/PlGF no soro materno e relação proteína/creatinina em amostra de urina e definir o melhor ponto de corte desses testes para distinguir pacientes com hipertensão gestacional daquelas com pré-eclâmpsia, a fim de avaliar a possibilidade de utilizá-los como métodos diagnósticos. MéTODOS: Foi realizado um estudo prospectivo longitudinal e foram coletadas amostras de sangue de 95 gestantes com hipertensão arterial para dosar as concentrações séricas dos biomarcadores sFlt-1 e PlGF. Amostras de urina foram coletadas para pesquisa de proteinúria. Foram consideradas significativas as diferenças com p < 0,05. RESULTADOS: A relação sFlt-1/PlGF demonstrou sensibilidade de 57,5% e especificidade de 60% utilizando 50,4 como ponto de corte. O teste que apresentou a melhor acurácia no diagnóstico de pré-eclâmpsia foi a relação proteína/creatinina, com sensibilidade de 78,9% e especificidade de 70%, utilizando 0,4 como ponto de corte e demostrando uma área sob a curva receiver operating characteristic (ROC, na sigla em inglês) de 0,80 (p < 0,001). CONCLUSãO: Nenhum método de rastreamento isolado se mostrou com boa acurácia para o diagnóstico de pré-eclâmpsia, exceto a relação proteína/creatinina. As evidências são insuficientes para recomendar os biomarcadores sFlt-1 e PlGF como diagnóstico de pré-eclâmpsia.

Evaluation of angiogenic factors (PlGF and sFlt-1) in pre-eclampsia diagnosis / Avaliação dos fatores angiogênicos (PlGF e sFlt-1) no diagnóstico de pré-eclâmpsia

Abstract Objective: Recent observations support the hypothesis that an imbalance between angiogenic factors has a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and is responsible for the clinical manifestations of the disease. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and the best accuracy level of Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), placental growth factor (PlGF), and sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in maternal serum and protein/creatinine ratio in urine sample to define the best cutoff point of these tests to discriminate between the patients with gestational hypertension and the patients with pre-eclampsia, to evaluate the possibility of using them as diagnostic methods. Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was performed, and blood samples were collected from 95 pregnant patients with hypertension to measure serum concentrations of biomarkers sFlt-1 and PlGF. Urine samples were collected for protein screening. Significance was set as p < 0.05. Results: The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio demonstrated a sensitivity of 57.5% and a specificity of 60% using 50.4 as a cutoff point. The test that showed the best accuracy in the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia was protein/creatinine ratio, with a sensitivity of 78.9% and a specificity of 70% using 0.4 as a cutoff point and showing an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.80 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: No studied laboratory test proved to be fairly accurate for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia, except for the protein/creatinine ratio. The evidence is insufficient to recommend biomarkers sFlt-1 and PlGF to be used for the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia.

Resumo Objetivo: Pesquisas recentes sustentam a hipótese de que um desequilíbrio entre fatores angiogênicos desempenhe um papel fundamental na patogênese da pré-eclâmpsia e seja responsável pelas manifestações clínicas da doença. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a sensibilidade, a especificidade e o nível de melhor acurácia do Fator semelhante a tirosina quinase 1 (sFlt-1), Fator de crescimento placentário (PlGF), e relação sFlt-1/PlGF no soro materno e relação proteína/creatinina em amostra de urina e definir o melhor ponto de corte desses testes para distinguir pacientes com hipertensão gestacional daquelas com pré-eclâmpsia, a fim de avaliar a possibilidade de utilizá-los como métodos diagnósticos. Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo prospectivo longitudinal e foram coletadas amostras de sangue de 95 gestantes com hipertensão arterial para dosar as concentrações séricas dos biomarcadores sFlt-1 e PlGF. Amostras de urina foram coletadas para pesquisa de proteinúria. Foram consideradas significativas as diferenças com p < 0,05. Resultados: A relação sFlt-1/PlGF demonstrou sensibilidade de 57,5% e especificidade de 60% utilizando 50,4 como ponto de corte. O teste que apresentou a melhor acurácia no diagnóstico de pré-eclâmpsia foi a relação proteína/creatinina, com sensibilidade de 78,9% e especificidade de 70%, utilizando 0,4 como ponto de corte e demostrando uma área sob a curva receiver operating characteristic (ROC, na sigla em inglês) de 0,80 (p < 0,001). Conclusão: Nenhum método de rastreamento isolado se mostrou com boa acurácia para o diagnóstico de pré-eclâmpsia, exceto a relação proteína/creatinina. As evidências são insuficientes para recomendar os biomarcadores sFlt-1 e PlGF como diagnóstico de pré-eclâmpsia.

Role of hysterectomy in the management of patients with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: importance of receiving treatment in reference centers.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate hysterectomy prevalence, indications and impact on clinical outcomes in a reference center in southern Brazil. STUDY DESIGN: Institutional Ethical Committee approval was granted for this study. In a cohort study spanning 21 years, all patients who underwent hysterectomy for gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) were included, and technical differences between hysterectomy performed in the reference center and those performed elsewhere were evaluated as well. RESULTS: Of 1,023 patients with gestational trophoblastic disease, 57 (5.6%) underwent hysterectomy (95% CI, 4.3-7.1). Hysterectomy incidence in 230 GTN patients was 17.7% (95%CI, 15.1-23.3). Indications for 41 hysterectomies in the reference center were as follows: primary treatment in 14 (34.1%) cases and secondary treatment in 27 (65.9%); of these, the main indications were GTN recurrence (7 [25.9%] cases), hemorrhage (6 [22.2%]), resistance to single-agent chemotherapy in patients who refused more aggressive treatment (6 [22.2%]), and tumor mass reduction (5 [18.5%]). Twelve (92.3%) of the 13 hysterectomies with bilateral oophorectomy were performed elsewhere (p < 0.001). Thirty-five (85.4%) patients had no complications, and median hospitalization time was short (3 +/- 4 days). None of the 4 deaths were associated with hysterectomy. In the reference center, when associated with hysterectomy, GTN cure rates reached 93% after 63 +/- 87 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: When treatment is in a reference center, hysterectomy frequency and morbidity may be low, and indications due to hemorrhage are significantly lower. Furthermore, at a reference center there is significantly greater ovarian preservation at the time of hysterectomy, and significantly more patients who undergo hysterectomy have low-risk GTN.

Prevention of postmolar gestational trophoblastic neoplasia using prophylactic single bolus dose of actinomycin D in high-risk hydatidiform mole: a simple, effective, secure and low-cost approach without adverse effects on compliance to general follow-up or subsequent treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of actinomycin D (Act-D) as prophylactic chemotherapy (P-Chem) to reduce postmolar gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) in patients with high-risk hydatidiform mole (Hr-HM). METHODS: From 1987 to 2006, 265 Hr-HM were selected in a retrospective analysis of a nonrandomized clinical trial of 1090 patients with gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) followed up at a Trophoblastic Disease Center (TDC) in southern Brazil. From 1996 to 2006, 163 received a single bolus dose of Act-D at time of uterine evacuation (Hr-HM-chem group); 102 with the same risk factors did not get P-Chem (Hr-HM-control group). Variables were: number of patients with postmolar GTN who required chemotherapy during follow-up, postmolar GTN morbidity, compliance and operational costs. RESULTS: Postmolar GTN was diagnosed in 18.4% of the Hr-HM-chem patients (95% CI: 12.7-24.7) and in 34.3% of the Hr-HM-control patients (95% CI: 25.1-43.5). Postmolar GTN was 46% lower in P-Chem (RR=0.54; 95% CI: 0.35-0.82; NNT=7). P-Chem adverse effects were occasional and minor. When disease progressed to postmolar GTN, severity was the same, but costs were lower for the Hr-HM-chem group. Compliance with follow-up was high and similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Follow-up of patients with Hr-HM showed that a single bolus dose of prophylactic Act-D reduced the incidence of postmolar GTN. Compliance and postmolar GTN morbidity were not affected. Treatment costs and emotional complications were reduced. This prophylactic approach can be adopted before uterine evacuation in any TDC that treats Hr-HM patients that present with undelivered moles.

Devic's neuromyelitis optica and pregnancy: distinction from multiple sclerosis is essential.

BACKGROUND: Devic's neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a severe neurological disease characterized by optic neuritis and transverse myelitis, which is commonly misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis (MS). This rare syndrome has a poor prognosis, and there are very few cases described during pregnancy. CASE: We report the occurrence of NMO in a primigravida at 20 weeks, in which gestation had an adverse effect on the disease course, and emphasize the main parameters to distinguish NMO from MS. CONCLUSION: It is essential that a proper diagnosis is established before pregnancy is planned, since the prognosis for NMO and MS might differ. Although the association of gestation and NMO is extremely rare, the few available data demonstrate a significant risk of disease exacerbation. NMO patients require long term immunossupression and need to carefully evaluate the risk of getting pregnant.

Immunohistochemical expression of p16 and p53 in vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia and squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva.

This study was undertaken to examine the expression of p16 and p53 in vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the vulva. We also analyzed the relationship between p16 and p53 immunoexpression in women younger vs. older than 55 years of age. Seventyseven histologic samples of vulvar tissue, treated surgically between June 2000 and November 2004 at the Complexo Hospitalar Santa Casa (Porto Alegre, Brazil), were investigated. We analyzed 28 cases of VIN, 37 cases of SCC and 12 normal vulvar tissues. The percentage of immunohistochemical positivity for p16 had the following distribution across the groups: VIN: 21.4% (6/28), cancer: 24.3% (9/37) and control: absent (p=0.202). p53 expression showed the following percentages: VIN: 60.7% (17/28), cancer: 18.9% (7/37) and control: 8.3% (1/12) (p=0.01). p16 expression in the cancer group (mean age: 63.4 years) was positive in 6 and 3 cases of women younger or older than 55 years, respectively (54.5% vs. 11.5%, p=0.01). p53 expression was not detected in young females with cancer, while it was expressed in 7/26 (26.9%) cases of the group of females older than 55 years of age (p=0.08). Our results suggest an increase in the immunohistochemical expression of p16 protein in young women with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva, and a possible association with a low expression of p53.

Conduta na doença trofoblástica gestacional (DGT): experiência de 10 anos de um centro de referência no manejo de pacientes com mola hidatiforme de evoluçäo näo complicada / Management of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease-Hydatidiform mole with non complicated evolution: results of a 10 yearïs experiece in a reference center

Ensaio clínico sistematizado e prospectivo, envolvendo 285 pacientes com MH que tiveram evolução não complicada e que foram manejadas no Centro de Doenças Trofoblásticas da ISCMPA-RS, num período de 10 anos, pela mesma equipe personalizada e multiprofissional...

Doença trofoblástica gestacional metastática e de ultra-alto risco: importância do manejo em centros de referência por equipe interprofissional / Ultra-high metastatic gestational trophoblastic disease - importance of management in reference centers by interprofessional staff

Apresentação de um caso raro de doença trofoblástica gestacional e de ultra-alto risco manejado com sucesso pela equipe interprofissional do CDT da ISCMPA, que empregou no tratamento, como esquema polioquimioterápico, o regime "EMA/CE", em relato in´sdito na literatura.

Doença Trofoblástica Gestacional: situaçäo atual / Gestational Trophoblastic Disease: an update

Este trabalho visa fazer uma revisäo atualizada sobre o diagnóstico, manejo e seguimento das Doenças Trofoblásticas Gestacionais (DTG). Os autores também salientam a necessidade de as pacientes serem remanejadas em Centros de Referência, uma vez que o prognóstico das DTG depende do diagnóstico precoce e do tratamento adequado que as pacientes tiveram no início de sua doença

Sepse em Ginecologia e Obstetrícia / Sepsis in Gynaecology and Obstetrics

Infecçöes de origem gineco-obstétrica constituem uma das mais frequentes causas de sepse, com importante morbi-mortalidade. O autor realizou uma extensa revisäo da literatura com o objetivo de atualizar conceitos relacionados a incidência, causas determinantes, fisiopatologia, microbiologia, classificaçäo, terapêutica e prognóstico de sepse de origem gineco-obstétrica

Atualizaçäo em infecçäo puerperal: condutas que orientam a terapêutica / Puerperal infection updating: management to orient the therapeutic procedure

A infecçao puerperal é considerada uma das principais causas de morbi-mortalidade materna em qualquer serviço de Obstetrícia. Os autores fizeram uma extensa revisao de literatura, com o objetivo de atualizar os conceitos relacionados à incidência, aos fatores de risco, à microbiologia, à fisiopatologia, ao diagnóstico e ao tratamento da infecçao puerperal e das complicaçoes associadas (abscesso pélvico, tromboflebite pélvica séptica e fascite necrosante). Normas atuais para a profilaxia e tratamento da infecçao puerperal e suas complicaçoes sao também propostas.