Different treatment modalities for cesarean scar pregnancies: a single-center experience and literature review.

PURPOSE: Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) remains a sporadic form of ectopic pregnancy associated with a severe life-threatening condition. There is no consensus on the treatment modality or a generally accepted guideline in CSP. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of the different treatment modalities used in CSP treatment at a single center, as well as a literature review. METHODS: This is a retrospective case series study that was conducted; all women who diagnosed with CSP between January 2013 and November 2019 at Women's Specialized Hospital, King Fahad Medical City. The clinical characteristics, diagnosis, different treatment modalities, and clinical outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-seven cases of CSP identified during the study period. The median maternal age was 38 years (range 23-47 years). The gestational age at diagnosis ranged between 5 weeks and 5 days to 13 weeks and 6 days. All diagnoses were made by ultrasound. The absence of embryonic cardiac activity was seen in 10 cases (37.03%). The most commonly used method for first-line treatment was medical treatment. A total of 14 patients (51.85%) were treated with systemic methotrexate (MTX), three (11.1%) intra-sac and systemic MTX, and two (7.4%) intra-cardiac potassium chloride (KCl) along with systemic MTX, five (18.51%) cases had expectant management, one case initially treated with Laparotomy Wedge resection, and one case treated with uterine artery embolization (UAE) and systemic MTX. A total of 20 (74.07%) patients were treated successfully with first-line treatment. Seven (25.92%) patients needed additional second-line treatment. Among them, only one case had surgical intervention. None of the women in the medical treatment group experienced any side effects. Based on ANOVA results, there is no considerable relationship between the mean time of resolution of ß-hCG and four treatment modalities for CSP (p = 0.2406). There was no statistical significance when the fetal viability at the time of diagnosis was compared to the need for second-line treatment of CSP (p = 0.58). CONCLUSION: The treatment of CSP should be individualized based on risk factors. Diagnosis and management of CSP need expertise and a multidisciplinary approach to prevent complications. Early diagnosis and management of cesarean scar ectopic pregnancy remains the mainstay for a successful outcome.

Vaginal dinoprostone versus placebo for pain relief during intrauterine device insertion: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically and meta-analytically investigate the efficacy and safety of vaginal dinoprostone versus placebo in pain relief during intrauterine device (IUD) insertion. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were screened till 1 October 2020. Only randomised placebo-controlled studies were included and assessed for risk of bias. Main outcomes included IUD insertion related pain, patient satisfaction, provider ease of IUD insertion, and side effects. Pooled outcomes were summarised as standardised mean difference (SMD), weighted mean difference (WMD), or risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI). RESULTS: Five studies were included, comprising 862 patients; equally 431 patients received vaginal dinoprostone and placebo. All studies showed an overall low risk of bias. When compared to placebo, dinoprostone significantly correlated with decreased pain at tenaculum placement (SMD = -0.79, 95% CI [-1.43, -0.16], p = 0.01), decreased pain at uterine sounding (SMD = -0.88, 95% CI [-1.54, -0.22], p = 0.009), decreased pain at IUD insertion (SMD = -1.18, 95% CI [-1.74, -0.61], p < 0.001), decreased need for additional analgesia (RR = 0.34, 95% CI [0.22, 0.53], p < 0.001), increased patient satisfaction (SMD = 1.41, 95% CI [0.62, 2.20], p < 0.001), and increased provider ease of IUD insertion (SMD = -1.17, 95% CI [-1.62, -0.73], p < 0.001). Fever was statistically significantly higher in dinoprostone versus placebo group (RR = 3.73, 95% CI [1.47, 9.44], p = 0.006). All other side effects-including nausea, vomiting, shivering, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, vasovagal attack, uterine perforation, and postprocedural bleeding-did not substantially differ between both groups. CONCLUSIONS: This first ever meta-analysis advocates that dinoprostone compared with placebo is safe, effective, and yields favourable analgesic outcomes during IUD insertion.

Preemptive pregabalin for postoperative analgesia during minimally invasive hysterectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the analgesic benefits of preemptive pregabalin among patients undergoing minimally invasive hysterectomy. Five major databases were systematically screened from inception until August 29, 2021 Relevant studies were evaluated for risk of bias. Endpoints were analyzed using the random-effects model and pooled as the mean difference or risk ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Four studies with seven treatment arms met the inclusion criteria. The total sample size was 304 patients: 193 and 111 patients were allocated to the pregabalin and placebo groups, respectively. Overall, the included studies revealed a low risk of bias. The summary results revealed that the mean postoperative pain scores at rest were significantly lower in the pregabalin group than in the control group at 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours. Moreover, the mean postoperative pain scores on movement/coughing were significantly lower in the pregabalin group than in the control group at 12 and 24 hours. The rate of patients who were opioid-free postoperatively was significantly higher in the pregabalin group than in the control group. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the mean postoperative time to first rescue analgesic and the rates of adverse events. Compared with placebo, preemptive pregabalin was largely safe, and was correlated with superior analgesic effects in terms of lower postoperative pain scores and higher opioid-sparing effects. Additional RCTs are needed to confirm these findings.

The effect of tamoxifen on the lipid profile in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The effect of tamoxifen administration on serum lipids in females remains unclear. The studies which have explored this topic have produced conflicting results, probably due to discrepancies in the length of the intervention, differences in baseline variables or other factors. To answer this research question, we decided to conduct this systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effects of tamoxifen on the lipid profile in women. METHODS: A comprehensive search was conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed/Medline and Embase, from the inception of these databases up to June 2021. We used a random effects meta-analysis to generate the combined results. RESULTS: The overall findings were generated from 18 eligible trials. As compared to placebo, tamoxifen led to a notable reduction of the total cholesterol (TC) (WMD: -23.03 mg/dL, 95% CI: -25.94 to -20.12, P˂0.001), and the low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD: -18.68 mg/dL, 95% CI: -24.31 to -13.04, P˂0.001). However, tamoxifen did not alter triglycerides (TG) concentrations (WMD: +1.06 mg/dL, 95% CI: -11.08 to 13.20, P = 0.864) significantly. A pronounced reduction of the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDLC) was noted in the RCTs with a duration of ≤52 weeks (WMD: -2.06 mg/dL) and when tamoxifen was administered in participants with a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 (WMD: -1.42 mg/dL). Notable reductions in TC (WMD: -23.57 mg/dL) and LDL-C (WMD: -19.21 mg/dL) was detected when the dose of tamoxifen was ≥20 mg/day. Moreover, a significant reduction of TC (WMD: -20.23 mg/dL) and LDL-C (WMD: -24.13 mg/dL) was observed in the RCTs with a duration of ≤52 weeks. CONCLUSION: Tamoxifen can alter the lipid profile in females, particularly by decreasing TC, LDL-C and HDLC. Tamoxifen can further reduce TC and LDL-C if the dose of administration is ≥20 mg/day, the treatment duration is ≤52 weeks and if it prescribed in subjects with dyslipidemia.