The relation between endometriosis and ovarian cancer - a review.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is known to harbor characteristics substantiating its possible role as a precursor of ovarian cancer. OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of the literature regarding the association between endometriosis and ovarian cancer and to estimate the extent of this relation. METHODS: An electronic literature search was conducted in PubMed and 1112 articles dealing with the relation between endometriosis and ovarian cancer were identified. Original articles based on case-control studies, cohort studies and cross-sectional studies were included. Studies consisting of populations with self-reported endometriosis were excluded, as were articles with fewer than 20 cases of ovarian cancer. Twenty-eight studies underwent detailed quality assessments based on the checklists developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). Meta-analyses were conducted on selected subgroups of ovarian cancer with coexisting endometriosis. RESULTS: None of the 28 studies was given the highest possible rating using the SIGN checklists. The risk of ovarian cancer in women with endometriosis was reported to be a standardized incidence ratio of 1.43-8.95, a rate ratio of 1.6-2.88, an odds ratio of 1.34, with a prevalence of ovarian cancer in 2.0-17.0% of women with endometriosis. Conversely, the prevalence of endometriosis in women with ovarian cancer ranged from 3.4 to 52.6%. Meta-analysis results were weakened by heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: There is sufficient evidence to conclude that there is an increased risk of developing clear-cell and endometrioid epithelial ovarian cancer for women with histologically verified endometriosis. Nonetheless, prospective cohort studies assessing the relation between endometriosis and ovarian cancer will increase knowledge in this field.

Panel 5: Impact of otitis media on quality of life and development.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize recent advances in knowledge on otitis media (OM) and quality of life (QoL) and development by synthesizing relevant research in this field published between June 1., 2015 until June 1., 2019. DATA SOURCES: Systematic searches of PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library using predefined database-specific syntaxes. REVIEW METHODS: Articles selected were randomized controlled trials and observational studies with an adequate control group estimating treatment effects of OM including acute OM (AOM), recurrent AOM (RAOM), OM with effusion (OME), chronic OM (COM) and chronic suppurative OM (CSOM). Items included were Health Status, Health Status Indicators, Quality of Life, Functional Status, Specific Learning Disorder, Developmental Disabilities, Language Development Disorders, and Problem Behavior. RESULTS: The electronic database searches yielded a total of 699 records. After screening titles and abstracts, we identified 34 potentially eligible articles. Of these, 18 were excluded. This left 15 articles suitable for inclusion. CONCLUSIONS: Although evidence is accumulating that OM may significantly impair children's QoL and development as well as caregiver's QoL, studies on this topic are relatively scarce and vary substantially in terms of methodological quality and outcome measurement instruments (OMI) used. In this review, studies have used 10 different OMIs capturing a wide range of OM symptoms as well as generic and disease-specific QoL outcomes. OM was associated with negative effects on auditory processing, language and speech development, school readiness, social competence, psychosocial wellbeing, and sleep. We found only four relevant randomized controlled trials, which mostly failed to demonstrate superiority of interventions in terms of QoL improvement and reports on reversibility are lacking. This underpins the urgent need for high quality studies in this field using validated and uniform OMIs. To facilitate interpretation and harmonization of study findings, we suggest and support the development of a core outcome set for the various OM entities that should include the most reliable and meaningful QoL and developmental OMIs.

Post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage: assessment of risk factors with special attention to introduction of coblation technique.

Post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH) is a relatively common and potentially life-threatening complication. The objective of this study was to examine the rate of PTH and identify risk factors. A retrospective cohort study was carried out including all tonsillectomies (430 patients) performed at Odense University Hospital (OUH) or Svendborg Hospital (SH), Denmark. PTH occurred in 52 patients (12.1%). Of the 180 patients treated with coblation technique, 41 (22.7%) had PTH. There were no fatal bleeding episodes. Multiple regression analysis resulted in three significant covariates: "Coblation as surgical technique" [relative risk (RR) = 5.3], "peritonsillar abscess as indication for surgery" (RR = 0.3) and "age equal to or above 15 years at the time of surgery" (RR = 5.4). It is concluded that patient age, PTA as indication for surgery and the use of coblation significantly affect the occurrence of PTH when coblation procedures are performed by non-experienced surgeons. We advise that implementation of coblation tonsillectomy is thoroughly planned with sufficient training of surgeons and continuous surveillance of results. If PTH rates comparable to "cold dissections tonsillectomy" cannot be reached intervention (learning or closing down of coblation tonsillectomy) has to be done.