Perioperative complications following colpocleisis with and without concomitant vaginal hysterectomy.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Pelvic organ prolapse is common in the elderly population and may be surgically treated with colpocleisis. We aimed to identify and compare surgical characteristics and 30-day perioperative complications in patients who underwent colpocleisis with and without concomitant vaginal hysterectomy (VH) using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database. METHODS: Women who underwent vaginal closure procedures from 2006 to 2014 were identified utilizing Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for LeFort colpocleisis (57120) and vaginectomy (57110). Patients undergoing a concomitant VH were identified by CPT codes ranging from 58260 to 58294. Variables including patient demographics, operative time, hospital length of stay, transfusion' and reoperation were evaluated. Specific medical complications, surgical site infection' and urinary tract infection (UTI) rates were calculated. Variables were analyzed using chi-squared, Fisher's exact, student's t tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: We identified 1,027 women in the ACS-NSQIP database who underwent vaginal closure procedures. The majority of patients (893, 87.0%) underwent colpocleisis alone, and the remainder (134, 13.0%) underwent concomitant VH. Operative times were shorter in patients undergoing colpocleisis alone. UTI was the most common postoperative complication affecting 4.3% of the entire cohort. Twelve women (1.2%) had a serious medical complication, seven who underwent colpocleisis alone and five who underwent colpocleisis with concomitant VH. In backward logistic regression' serious medical complications were the only variable independently associated with VH at the time of colpocleisis (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Colpocleisis is a safe procedure with rare serious adverse events.

Phosphate-containing polyethylene glycol polymers prevent lethal sepsis by multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Antibiotic resistance among highly pathogenic strains of bacteria and fungi is a growing concern in the face of the ability to sustain life during critical illness with advancing medical interventions. The longer patients remain critically ill, the more likely they are to become colonized by multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. The human gastrointestinal tract is the primary site of colonization of many MDR pathogens and is a major source of life-threatening infections due to these microorganisms. Eradication measures to sterilize the gut are difficult if not impossible and carry the risk of further antibiotic resistance. Here, we present a strategy to contain rather than eliminate MDR pathogens by using an agent that interferes with the ability of colonizing pathogens to express virulence in response to host-derived and local environmental factors. The antivirulence agent is a phosphorylated triblock high-molecular-weight polymer (here termed Pi-PEG 15-20) that exploits the known properties of phosphate (Pi) and polyethylene glycol 15-20 (PEG 15-20) to suppress microbial virulence and protect the integrity of the intestinal epithelium. The compound is nonmicrobiocidal and appears to be highly effective when tested both in vitro and in vivo. Structure functional analyses suggest that the hydrophobic bis-aromatic moiety at the polymer center is of particular importance to the biological function of Pi-PEG 15-20, beyond its phosphate content. Animal studies demonstrate that Pi-PEG prevents mortality in mice inoculated with multiple highly virulent pathogenic organisms from hospitalized patients in association with preservation of the core microbiome.

The Promise of PROMIS in Pelvic Organ Prolapse.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to determine the relationship between pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and health-related quality of life dimensions and to evaluate the utility of the PROMIS Profile in women undergoing surgical treatment for POP. METHODS: We performed a planned ancillary analysis of 103 women recruited between January 2014 and December 2015 to the Restricted Convalescence Outcomes following Urogynecologic Procedures study. All participants underwent surgery for POP and completed the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20), Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ-7), Patient Global Impression of Severity Scale, and the 57-item Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-57) questionnaire, preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively. Data were analyzed using Pearson and Spearman correlations. RESULTS: Preoperative PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 scores were significantly correlated with all PROMIS domains including physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, satisfaction with participation in social roles, pain interference, and higher pain intensity. Worse self-reported condition assessments on the Patient Global Impression of Severity were significantly correlated with worse physical function, more pain interference, and higher pain intensity on the PROMIS Profile at baseline. Postoperatively, PFDI-20, PFIQ-7, and all PROMIS Profile domain scores improved significantly (P ≤ 0.05). Correlations between PDFI-20, PFIQ-7, and PROMIS domains persisted at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of women undergoing surgery for POP, pelvic floor symptom severity is associated with health-related quality of life domains measured by the PROMIS-57.

Imiquimod Acts Synergistically with BMP9 through the Notch Pathway as an Osteoinductive Agent In Vitro.

BACKGROUND: Autologous bone grafts used for surgical reconstruction are limited by infection or insufficient supply of host material. Experimental agents that promote differentiation of stem cells into mature bone are currently being studied for future use in the repair of bone defects. The authors hypothesized that imiquimod, a synthetic immune response modifier, increases Notch pathway gene expression and acts synergistically with bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 9 to induce differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells toward an osteogenic phenotype. METHODS: Alkaline phosphatase activity was used to assess the osteogenic potential of cultured mouse immortalized multipotent adipose-derived cells (iMADs) treated with 0, 4, 6, and 8 µg/ml of imiquimod with and without BMP9. Adenoviral vectors expressing human BMP9 and a dominant-negative mutant of mouse Notch1 were used to assess BMP9 and Notch blockade on osteogenic activity, respectively. Expression of Notch signaling mediators and osteogenic markers were assayed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Alizarin red staining was used to assess the synergism between BMP9 and imiquimod. RESULTS: Imiquimod exposure enhanced osteogenic differentiation of iMADs by 2.8-fold (p < 0.001) and potentiated BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of iMADs by 1.6-fold (p < 0.001), shown by increased alkaline phosphatase activity and augmented matrix mineralization. Quantitative-real time polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated that imiquimod induced the expression of downstream genes (p < 0.01) of the Notch signaling pathway Hey1, Hey2, and Hes1, by increases of 9.7-, 22-, and 2.7-fold, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These findings identify a novel role for imiquimod to shift mesenchymal stem cells toward an osteogenic phenotype. Imiquimod may be useful clinically when scaffolds are applied to treat bone defects.