Implementation of HPV-based Cervical Cancer Screening Combined with Self-sampling Using a Midwifery Network Across Rural Greece: The GRECOSELF Study.

Self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is an alternative to physician sampling particularly for cervical cancer screening nonattenders. The GRECOSELF study is a nationwide observational cross-sectional study aiming to suggest a way to implement HPV-DNA testing in conjunction with self-sampling for cervical cancer screening in Greece, utilizing a midwifery network. Women residing in remote areas of Greece were approached by midwives, of a nationwide network, and were provided with a self-collection kit (dry swab) for cervicovaginal sampling and asked to answer a questionnaire about their cervical cancer screening history. Each sample was tested for high-risk (hr) HPV with the Cobas HPV test. HrHPV-Positive women were referred to undergo colposcopy and, if needed, treatment according to colposcopy/biopsy results. Between May 2016 and November 2018, 13,111 women were recruited. Of these, 12,787 women gave valid answers in the study questionnaire and had valid HPV-DNA results; hrHPV prevalence was 8.3%; high-grade cervical/vaginal disease or cancer prevalence was 0.6%. HrHPV positivity rate decreased with age from 20.7% for women aged 25-29 years to 5.1% for women aged 50-60 years. Positive predictive value for hrHPV testing and for HPV16/18 genotyping ranged from 5.0% to 11.6% and from 11.8% to 27.0%, respectively, in different age groups. Compliance to colposcopy referral rate ranged from 68.6% (for women 25-29) to 76.3% (for women 40-49). For women residing in remote areas of Greece, the detection of hrHPV DNA with the Cobas HPV test, on self-collected cervicovaginal samples using dry cotton swabs, which are provided by visiting midwives, is a promising method for cervical cancer secondary prevention.

Pregnancy outcomes and nutritional indices after 3 types of bariatric surgery performed at a single institution.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional status during pregnancy and the effects of nutritional deficiencies on pregnancy outcomes after bariatric surgery is an important issue that warrants further study. The objective of this study was to investigate pregnancy outcomes and nutritional indices after restrictive and malabsorptive procedures. METHODS: We investigated pregnancy outcomes of 113 women who gave birth to 150 children after biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) between June 1994 and December 2011. Biochemical indices and pregnancy outcomes were compared among the different types of surgery and to overall 20-year hospital data, as well as to 56 presurgery pregnancies in 36 women of the same group. RESULTS: Anemia was observed in 24.2% and 15.6% of pregnancies after BPD and RYGB, respectively. Vitamin B12 levels decreased postoperatively in all groups, with no further decrease during pregnancy; however, low levels were observed not only after BPD (11.7%) and RYGB (15.6%), but also after SG (13.3%). Folic acid levels increased. Serum albumin levels decreased in all groups during pregnancy, but hypoproteinemia was seen only after BPD. Neonates after BPD had significantly lower average birth weight without a higher frequency of low birth weight defined as<2500 g. A comparison of neonatal data between babies born before surgery and siblings born after surgery (AS) showed that AS newborns had lower average birth weight with no significant differences in body length or head circumference and no cases of macrosomia. CONCLUSION: Our study showed reasonably good pregnancy outcomes in this sample population after all types of bariatric surgery provided nutritional supplement guidelines are followed. Closer monitoring is required in pregnancies after malabsorptive procedures especially regarding protein nutrition.