Social media utilization, preferences, and patterns of behavior in patients with gynecologic pelvic pain.

BACKGROUND: Social media is increasingly becoming a health resource for people suffering from complex and debilitating health conditions. A comprehensive understanding of how and why social media and the Internet are used among patients with chronic gynecologic pain will allow for the intentional development and incorporation of web-based tools into patient care plans. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether gynecologic patients with pain are more likely to use social media and the Internet to understand and manage their condition than those without pain. The survey was designed to explore how gynecologic patients with and without pain use and interact with social media and other web-based health resources and the clinical, personal, and demographic factors influencing these behaviors. STUDY DESIGN: Patients presenting with a new complaint to a gynecologist at 1 of 6 Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery-affiliated hospital systems were screened, consented, and assigned to pain and no-pain groups. Participants were surveyed about social media and Internet use, symptoms, bother, physician selection, motivation, trust, and demographic information. Survey responses were compared using the Fisher exact tests, odds ratios, and risk ratios from standard tabular analysis, univariate or multivariate tests of means, and regression analyses, as appropriate. RESULTS: Of 517 participants included in the study, 475 (92%) completed the survey, 328 (69.1%) with pain and 147 (30.9%) without pain. Study participants in the pain group reported more than double the odds of using social media than those without pain (37.8% vs 19.7%; odds ratio, 2.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.54-3.96) and triple the odds of using the Internet (88.4% vs 69.4%; odds ratio, 3.37; 95% confidence, 2.04-5.56) to understand or manage their condition. Participants with pain were more likely than those without pain to engage in social media at a higher level (3.5 vs 1.7 on a scale of 0 to 10; P<.0001), be motivated by interpersonal elements of online engagement (Hotelling's T2=37.3; P<.0001), prefer an interactive component to their online health resource (35.6% vs 24.3%; risk ratio, 1.46; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-2.20; P=.0433), be influenced by others in their choice of a gynecologist (0.37 vs 0.32 on a scale of 0 to 1; P=.009), use social media as a coping tool (38.3% vs 17%; P=.0001), trust information found on social media (31.4% vs 16.7%; P=.0033), and trust other women with the same condition, informal health resources, and personal sources more and doctors and formal health resources less (P=.0083). Participants in both groups reported higher levels of social media engagement with higher levels of symptom bother (28% increase in engagement with every doubling of bother level (P<.0001). CONCLUSION: Patients with gynecologic pain were more likely than those without pain to use social media and the Internet to understand and manage their condition. Patients with pain engaged in and trusted social media at a higher level, with engagement rising directly with bother level.

Stepwise Approach to the Management of Endometriosis-Related Dysmenorrhea: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of sequential medical and surgical therapy for the treatment of endometriosis-related dysmenorrhea. METHODS: A cost-effectiveness model was created to compare three stepwise medical and surgical treatment strategies compared with immediate surgical management for dysmenorrhea using a health care payor perspective. A theoretical study cohort was derived from the estimated number of reproductive age (18-45) women in the United States with endometriosis-related dysmenorrhea. The treatment strategies modeled were: strategy 1) nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) followed by surgery; strategy 2) NSAIDs, then short-acting reversible contraceptives or long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) followed by surgery; strategy 3) NSAIDs, then a short-acting reversible contraceptive or LARC, then a LARC or gonadotropin-releasing hormone modulator followed by surgery; strategy 4) proceeding directly to surgery. Probabilities, utilities, and costs were derived from the literature. Outcomes included cost, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate sensitivity analyses were performed. RESULTS: In this theoretical cohort of 4,817,894 women with endometriosis-related dysmenorrhea, all medical and surgical treatment strategies were cost effective at a standard willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000 per QALY gained when compared with surgery alone. Strategy 2 was associated with the lowest cost per QALY gained ($1,155). Requiring a trial of a third medication before surgery would cost an additional $257 million, compared with proceeding to surgery after failing two medical treatments. The probability of improvement with surgery would need to exceed 83% for this to be the preferred first-line approach. CONCLUSION: All sequential medical and surgical management strategies for endometriosis-related dysmenorrhea were cost effective when compared with surgery alone. A trial of hormonal management after NSAIDs, before proceeding to surgery, may provide cost savings. Delaying surgical management in an individual with pain refractory to more than three medications may decrease quality of life and increase cost.

Intravenous acetaminophen vs saline in perioperative analgesia with laparoscopic hysterectomy.

BACKGROUND: Opioids are effective for the treatment of postoperative pain but can cause nausea and are associated with dependency with long-term use. Nonopioid medications such as acetaminophen offer the promise of decreasing these nondesirable effects while still providing patient comfort. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare intravenous acetaminophen with placebo and to evaluate postoperative pain control and opioid usage after laparoscopic hysterectomy. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a prospective double-blind randomized study with 183 patients who were assigned randomly (1:1) to receive acetaminophen or placebo (Canadian Task Force Design Classification I). Patients received either 1000 mg of acetaminophen (n=91) or a placebo of saline solution (n=92) at the time of induction of anesthesia and a repeat dose 6 hours later. Both groups self-reported pain and nausea levels preoperatively and at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours after extubation with the use of a visual analog scale with a score of 0 for no pain to 10 for highest level of pain. Patients self-reported pain, nausea, and postoperative oral opiates that were taken after discharge. All opiates were converted to milligram equivalents of oral morphine for standardization. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in generalized abdominal pain at any time point postoperatively that included 2 hours (placebo 3.6±2.5 vs acetaminophen 4.4±2.5; P=.07) and up to 24 hours (placebo 3.3±2.4 vs acetaminophen 3.6±2.5; P=.28). Similar results were observed for nausea scores. There were no differences in opioid consumption at any time point including intraoperatively (placebo 4.4±3.9 vs acetaminophen 3.3±4.0; P=.06), post anesthesia care unit (placebo 10.5±10.3 vs acetaminophen 9.7±10.3; P=.59), and up to 24 hours after surgery (placebo 1.4±2.0 vs acetaminophen 1.6±2.1; P=.61). There were no differences in demographics or surgical data between groups. CONCLUSION: There was no difference between acetaminophen and placebo groups in postoperative pain, satisfaction scores, or opioid requirements. Given the relatively high cost ($23.20 per dose in our study), lack of benefit, and available oral alternatives, our results do not support routine use during hysterectomy.

Use of Uterine Characteristics to Improve Fertility-Sparing Diagnosis of Adenomyosis.

Objective: To describe patient demographics, determine accuracy of clinical diagnosis, and evaluate reliability of laparoscopic uterine characteristics in the diagnosis of adenomyosis. Materials and Methods: Enrollment included 117 patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign indications. Intraoperatively, the attending surgeon predicted uterine weight; evaluated the presence of fibroids; and commented on the uterus' shape, color, and consistency while probing it with a blunt instrument. A prediction was also made about whether final pathology would reveal adenomyosis. Standardized video recordings were obtained at the start of the case. Each video was viewed retrospectively twice by three expert surgeons in a blinded fashion. Uterine characteristics were reported again with a prediction of whether or not there would be a pathologic diagnosis of adenomyosis. These data were used to calculate inter-and intrarater reliability of diagnosis. Results: Women with adenomyosis were more likely to complain of midline pain as opposed to lateral or diffuse pain (p = 0.048) with no difference in the timing of the pain (p = 0.404), compared to patients without adenomyosis. Uterine tenderness on examination was not an accurate predictor of adenomyosis (p = 0.566). Preoperative diagnosis of adenomyosis by clinicians was poor, with an accuracy rate of 51.7%. None of the intraoperative uterine characteristics were significant for predicting adenomyosis on final pathology, nor was any combination of the features (p = 0.546). Retrospective video reviews failed to reveal any uterine characteristics that generated consistent inter- or intrarater reliability (Krippendorff's α < 0.7) in making the diagnosis of adenomyosis. Conclusions: Clinical and video diagnosis of adenomyosis have low accuracy with no uterine characteristics consistently or reliably predicting adenomyosis on final pathology. (J GYNECOL SURG 34:183).

Impact of Video Coaching on Gynecologic Resident Laparoscopic Suturing: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine if the addition of video coaching to an obstetrics and gynecology resident laparoscopic simulation curriculum improves acquisition of suturing skills. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial (Canadian Task Force classification I). SETTING: Academic teaching hospital with a residency program in obstetrics and gynecology. PATIENTS: Twenty obstetrics and gynecology residents undergoing a 4-week laparoscopic simulation curriculum were video recorded weekly performing a suturing task on a validated vaginal cuff model. INTERVENTIONS: Residents were randomized to standard simulation curriculum or standard curriculum plus weekly video coaching by an expert laparoscopic surgeon. Primary outcome measure was comparison of weekly Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills plus Vaginal Cuff Metrics (GOALS+) scores of the suturing task. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Baseline GOALS+ scores did not differ across training groups (p = .406), although "senior" (postgraduate years 3 and 4) residents initially had significantly higher GOALS+ scores than "junior" (postgraduate years 1 and 2) residents (p < .001). GOALS+ scores significantly improved from week 1 to week 2 in the intervention group compared with the control group (p < .05). Junior coached residents had significantly higher GOALS+ scores at week 2 (mean, 28.06; standard deviation, 3.10) compared with the junior control residents (mean, 20.75; standard deviation, 6.38; p < .04). Over the 4-week period all residents showed significant improvement (p = .005), with novice residents improving more than experienced residents (p = .001). The junior coached residents exhibited a significant difference between weeks 1 and 2 when compared with the junior residents undergoing the standard curriculum. CONCLUSION: Video coaching during laparoscopic simulation training has the greatest impact early in junior learners' skill acquisition, thus providing another tool for simulation training curricula.

Development and Validation of a Laparoscopic Simulation Model for Suturing the Vaginal Cuff.

OBJECTIVE: To create a novel surgical simulation model for training laparoscopic suturing of the vaginal cuff and to present evidence regarding its validity as a training and assessment tool. METHODS: The three phases of this study included model construction, validity and reliability testing, and evaluation of the model as an assessment tool. The model was created using corduroy, quilt batting, and neoprene. Construct validity was determined by comparing the scores on the Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills scale (25 points) between "expert" and "novice" groups. Experts included gynecologic surgeons (n=5) experienced in total laparoscopic hysterectomies, and novices (n=20) included gynecology trainees (postgraduate year [PGY]-2 to PGY-7). Three additional novel metrics were added to the Global Operative Laparoscopic Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills scale for a total of 40 points. The contrasting groups method was used to determine the minimum passing score. RESULTS: More than 90% of the participants "agreed" that the model resembled live surgery. Advanced novices (PGY-5 to PGY-7) performed similarly to the experts with similar median times (experts 7.3 minutes compared with advanced novices 6.3 minutes, P=.40) and total score (experts 36.5 compared with advanced novices 35.5, P=.34). In contrast, early novices (PGY-2 to PGY-4) tended to take significantly longer than experts (11.8 compared with 7.3 minutes, P<.01) and had a significantly lower total score (27 compared with 36.5, P<.01). Prior surgical experience was strongly correlated with total scores (ρ=0.68). The passing total score was 32 out of 40. CONCLUSION: This novel laparoscopic surgical simulation model allows novice surgeons to practice techniques of laparoscopic suturing to achieve competence before entering the operating room.

Crohn's Disease With Ovarian Granuloma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

We present an interesting case of a 35-year-old nulligravida with Crohn's disease with ovarian involvement. This is a rare manifestation of Crohn's disease, felt to arise from fistulization between the ovary and the intestine, most commonly the ileum. Our review of the literature revealed 11 additional case reports published in English with a total of 15 cases. The mean age at time of presentation was 33.7 years, with a predominance of right-sided involvement. This series included 10 patients with affected right ovaries, 3 with affected left ovaries, and 2 with bilateral involvement. We conclude that ovarian involvement in Crohn's disease, although rare, can exist, and that the gynecologic surgeon should be aware of this relevant disease manifestation.

Abdominal wall endometriosis: 12 years of experience at a large academic institution.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to review patient characteristics and intraoperative findings for excised cases of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE). STUDY DESIGN: A 12 year medical record search was performed for cases of excised AWE, and the diagnosis was confirmed on pathological specimen. Descriptive data were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Of 65 patients included, the primary clinical presentation was abdominal pain and/or a mass/lump (73.8% and 63.1%, respectively). Most patients had a history of cesarean section (81.5%) but 6 patients (9.2%) had no prior surgery. Time from the initial surgery to presentation ranged from 1 to 32 years (median, 7.0 years), and time from the most recent relevant surgery ranged from 1 to 32 years (median, 4.0 years). Five patients (7.7%) required mesh for fascial closure following the resection of the AWE. We were unable to demonstrate a correlation between the increasing numbers of open abdominal surgeries and the time to presentation or depth of involvement. Age, body mass index, and parity also were not predictive of depth of involvement. There were increased rates of umbilical lesions (75% vs 5.6%, P < .001) in nulliparous compared with multiparous women as well as in women without a history of cesarean section (66.7% vs 1.9%, P < .001). CONCLUSION: In women with a mass or pain at a prior incision, the differential diagnosis should include AWE. Although we were unable to demonstrate specific characteristics predictive for AWE, a large portion of our population had a prior cesarean section, suggesting a correlation.