Presence of Fibroids on Transvaginal Ultrasonography in a Community-Based, Diverse Cohort of 996 Reproductive-Age Female Participants.

Importance: Fibroids are benign uterine tumors that can cause significant morbidity. Knowledge on fibroid prevalence, especially in the asymptomatic population and in Asian and Hispanic or Latina individuals, is limited, and a better understanding of affected groups will improve timely diagnosis and motivate appropriate recruitment in clinical trials to reduce health disparities. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of fibroids in a diverse cohort of female individuals. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study included female individuals not seeking treatment for fertility or other conditions who were prospectively recruited in an academic medical center in San Francisco, California. Effort was made to recruit an equal proportion of participants from 4 large racial and ethnic groups in the United States (Asian-Chinese, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latina, and White) and across 4 equal age groups between 25 and 45 years. All participants reported regular menses (21-35 days), had not used estrogen- or progestin-containing medications in the 3 months prior to enrollment, and denied history of pelvic surgery. The assessment of ultrasonography results was part of an ongoing longitudinal cohort, with initial recruitment from October 2006 to September 2012. Data analysis was performed in April to September 2022. Main Outcomes and Measures: Fibroid presence and burden as assessed by transvaginal ultrasonography. Results: A total of 996 female participants were included in the analysis, including 229 (23.0%) Asian-Chinese, 249 (25.0%) Black or African American, 237 (23.8%) Hispanic or Latina, and 281 (28.2%) White individuals. Mean (SD) age was 34.8 (5.7) years in Asian-Chinese participants, 35.4 (6.1) years in Black or African American participants, 34.8 (5.3) years in Hispanic or Latina participants, and 35.3 (5.0) years in White participants. Fibroids were present in 21.8% (95% CI, 16.7%-27.8%) of Asian-Chinese participants, 35.7% (95% CI, 29.8%-42.0%) of Black or African American participants, 12.7% (95% CI, 8.7%-17.6%) of Hispanic or Latina participants, and 10.7% (95% CI, 7.3%-14.9%) of White participants. Black or African American and Asian-Chinese participants were more likely to have fibroids than White participants (Black or African American: adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.72 [95% CI, 2.72-8.18]; P < .001; Asian-Chinese: adjusted OR, 3.35 [95% CI, 1.95-5.76]; P < .001). In those with fibroids, the proportion with multiple fibroids were 48.3% in Black or African American participants, 33.3% in White participants, 33.3% in Hispanic or Latina participants, and 26.0% in Asian-Chinese participants (P = .06). The largest mean (SD) fibroid diameter was 3.9 (1.9) cm in Black or African American participants, 3.2 (1.6) cm in Asian-Chinese participants, 3.2 (1.6) cm in White participants, and 3.0 (1.4) cm in Hispanic or Latina participants (P = .03). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study of female participants in a nonclinical setting, Black or African American and Asian-Chinese participants were disproportionately affected by uterine fibroids. Hispanic or Latina participants had similar fibroid burden to White participants.

Time from oocyte retrieval to frozen embryo transfer in the natural cycle does not impact reproductive or neonatal outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the time from oocyte retrieval to frozen embryo transfer (FET) in the natural cycle affects reproductive or neonatal outcomes. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Five hundred and seventy-six consecutive freeze-all cycles from January 2011 to December 2018 followed by natural cycle FET of a single blastocyst. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Primary outcome of live birth; secondary outcomes of preterm delivery (24-37 weeks) and small for gestational age (SGA) with a multivariable logistic regression performed with adjustment for age, infertility diagnosis, ovulatory trigger type, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). RESULT(S): Before adjustment for confounding, we found a statistically significantly different live-birth rate (57.7% vs. 48.6%) for natural cycle FET occurring in the first versus second menstrual cycle, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, performing a natural cycle FET of a single blastocyst in the second compared with the first menstrual cycle did not statistically significantly impact the odds of live-birth rate. After adjustment for age, diagnosis, and ovulatory trigger type, only PGT was associated with statistically significantly increased odds of live birth compared with no PGT. There were no differences in the incidence of SGA (male, 6.6% vs. 2.3%; female, 9.8% vs. 11.1%) or preterm delivery (1.6% vs. 5.6%) between both groups. CONCLUSION(S): Performing a natural cycle FET of a single blastocyst in the second compared with the first menstrual cycle after ovarian stimulation did not statistically significantly impact the odds of live birth or neonatal outcomes.

Reproductive and obstetric outcomes in mildly and significantly underweight women undergoing IVF.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the impact of low body mass index (BMI) on live birth rates and obstetric outcomes in infertile women treated with IVF and fresh embryo transfer? DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study of infertile patients in an academic hospital setting who underwent their first oocyte retrieval with planned autologous fresh embryo transfer between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2018. The primary study outcome was live birth rate. Secondary outcomes were IVF treatment and delivery outcomes. Underweight patients were stratified into a significantly underweight group (body mass index [BMI] <17.5 kg/m2) and a mildly underweight group (BMI 17.5-18.49 kg/m2), and were compared with a normal-weight group (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2). RESULTS: A total of 5229 patients were included (significantly underweight, 76; mildly underweight, 231; normal weight, 4922), resulting in 4798 embryo transfers. After oocyte retrieval, there were no significant differences between groups for total oocytes, mature oocyte yield and number of supernumerary blastocysts cryopreserved. Among women who had an embryo transfer, there were no significant differences in the live birth rates in significantly (31.0%, odds ratio [OR] 0.67, confidence interval [0.95, CI] 0.40-1.13) and mildly (37.7%, OR 0.95, CI 0.73-1.33) underweight patients compared with normal-weight patients (35.9%). Additionally, there were no statistically significant increased risks of preterm delivery, Caesarean delivery or a low birthweight (<2500 g) neonate. CONCLUSIONS: Mildly and significantly underweight infertile women have similar pregnancy and live birth rates to normal-weight patients after IVF treatment. In addition, underweight patients do not have an increased risk of preterm delivery (<37 weeks), Caesarean delivery or a low birthweight neonate.

Live birth outcomes in infertile patients with class III and class IV obesity following fresh embryo transfer.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the effect of class III (body mass index [BMI, kg/m2] 40-49.9) and class IV obesity (≥ 50) on clinical pregnancy and live birth outcomes after first oocyte retrieval and fresh embryo transfer cycle. DESIGN: Cohort study SETTING: Academic center PATIENTS: Patients undergoing their first oocyte retrieval with planned fresh embryo transfer in our clinic between 01/01/2012 and 12/31/2018. Patients were stratified by BMI: 18.5-24.9 (n = 4913), 25-29.9 (n = 1566) 30-34.9 (n = 559), 35-39.9 (n = 218), and ≥ 40 (n = 114). INTERVENTION: None MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Live birth rate RESULTS: Following embryo transfer, there were no differences in pregnancy rates across all BMI groups (p value, linear trend = 0.86). However among pregnant patients, as BMI increased, a significant trend of a decreased live birth rate was observed (p value, test for linear trend = 0.004). Additionally, as BMI increased, a significant trend of an increased miscarriage rate was observed (p value, linear trend = < 0.001). Compared to the normal-weight cohort, women with a BMI ≥ 40 had a significantly higher rate of cancelled fresh transfers after retrieval (18.4% vs. 8.2%, OR 2.51; 95%CI 1.55-4.08). Among singleton deliveries, a significant trend of an increased c-section rate was identified as the BMI increased (p value, linear trend = <0.001). CONCLUSION: Overall, patients with a BMI > 40 have worse IVF treatment outcomes compared to normal-weight patients. After embryo transfer, their pregnancy rate is comparable to normal-weight women; however, their miscarriage rate is higher, leading to a lower live birth rate for pregnant women in this population. Patients with a BMI > 40 have a c-section rate that is 50% higher than normal-weight patients.

Isoflurane Ameliorates Acute Lung Injury by Preserving Epithelial Tight Junction Integrity.

BACKGROUND: Isoflurane may be protective in preclinical models of lung injury, but its use in patients with lung injury remains controversial and the mechanism of its protective effects remains unclear. The authors hypothesized that this protection is mediated at the level of alveolar tight junctions and investigated the possibility in a two-hit model of lung injury that mirrors human acute respiratory distress syndrome. METHODS: Wild-type mice were treated with isoflurane 1 h after exposure to nebulized endotoxin (n = 8) or saline control (n = 9) and then allowed to recover for 24 h before mechanical ventilation (MV; tidal volume, 15 ml/kg, 2 h) producing ventilator-induced lung injury. Mouse lung epithelial cells were similarly treated with isoflurane 1 h after exposure to lipopolysaccharide. Cells were cyclically stretched the following day to mirror the MV protocol used in vivo. RESULTS: Mice treated with isoflurane following exposure to inhaled endotoxin and before MV exhibited significantly less physiologic lung dysfunction. These effects appeared to be mediated by decreased vascular leak, but not altered inflammatory indices. Mouse lung epithelial cells treated with lipopolysaccharide and cyclic stretch and lungs harvested from mice after treatment with lipopolysaccharide and MV had decreased levels of a key tight junction protein (i.e., zona occludens 1) that was rescued by isoflurane treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Isoflurane rescued lung injury induced by a two-hit model of endotoxin exposure followed by MV by maintaining the integrity of the alveolar-capillary barrier possibly by modulating the expression of a key tight junction protein.

Digital diffraction analysis enables low-cost molecular diagnostics on a smartphone.

The widespread distribution of smartphones, with their integrated sensors and communication capabilities, makes them an ideal platform for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings. Molecular diagnostics, however, have been difficult to implement in smartphones. We herein report a diffraction-based approach that enables molecular and cellular diagnostics. The D3 (digital diffraction diagnosis) system uses microbeads to generate unique diffraction patterns which can be acquired by smartphones and processed by a remote server. We applied the D3 platform to screen for precancerous or cancerous cells in cervical specimens and to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA. The D3 assay generated readouts within 45 min and showed excellent agreement with gold-standard pathology or HPV testing, respectively. This approach could have favorable global health applications where medical access is limited or when pathology bottlenecks challenge prompt diagnostic readouts.