Opportunistic salpingectomy in women undergoing hysterectomy: Results from the HYSTUB randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether opportunistic salpingectomy in premenopausal women undergoing hysterectomy for benign indications is both hormonally and surgically safe, compared with hysterectomy without salpingectomy. STUDY DESIGN: In this multicentre randomised controlled trial, women were randomised to undergo either hysterectomy with opportunistic bilateral salpingectomy (intervention group) or standard hysterectomy with preservation of the Fallopian tubes (control group). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the difference in serum anti-Müllerian hormone concentration (ΔAMH), measured pre-surgery and 6 months post-surgery. Secondary outcomes were surgical outcomes and duration of hospital stay. The sample size was powered at 50 participants per group (n=100) to compare ΔAMH after hysterectomy with salpingectomy to ΔAMH after standard hysterectomy. RESULTS: Between March 2013 and December 2016, 104 women, aged 30-55 years, were randomly allocated to hysterectomy with opportunistic bilateral salpingectomy (n=52) or standard hysterectomy (n=52). The baseline characteristics did not differ between the two groups. The median ΔAMH was -0.14pmol/L (IQR -1.47-0.95) in the intervention group and 0.00pmol/L (IQR -1.05-0.80) in the control group (p=0.49). The addition of salpingectomy did not impair surgical results and it did not affect duration of hospital stay. CONCLUSION: Addition of opportunistic bilateral salpingectomy during hysterectomy did not result in a larger effect on ovarian reserve when compared with hysterectomy alone, neither did it affect surgical outcomes. Therefore, opportunistic salpingectomy seems to be a safe procedure in premenopausal women undergoing hysterectomy for benign gynaecological conditions.

Effect of chemotherapy on health-related quality of life among early-stage ovarian cancer survivors: a study from the population-based PROFILES registry.

BACKGROUND: There is wide variation in the application of adjuvant chemotherapy in early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. Our aim was to assess differences in health-related quality of life (hrqol) between patients with early-stage ovarian cancer who did or did not receive chemotherapy as adjuvant treatment. METHODS: All patients diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer between 2000 and 2010 within the population-based Eindhoven Cancer Registry (n = 191) were enrolled in this study. Patients were requested to complete questionnaires, including the cancer-specific (qlq-C30) and ovarian cancer-specific (qlq-OV28) quality of life measures from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. Primary outcome measures were the generic-and cancer-specific domain scores for hrqol in ovarian cancer survivors. RESULTS: Of the 107 patients (56%) who returned the questionnaires, 57 (53.3%) had received adjuvant chemotherapy and 50 (46.7%) had been treated with surgery alone. Significant differences in hrqol between those groups were found in the symptom scales for peripheral neuropathy, attitude toward sickness, and financial situation, with worse scores in the chemotherapy group. CONCLUSIONS: Results of our study show that patients who receive adjuvant chemotherapy have a significantly worse score for 3 aspects of hrqol. Efforts should be made to reduce use of adjuvant chemotherapy in early-stage ovarian cancer. Moreover, preventive strategies to improve long-term quality of life for those who need adjuvant chemotherapy should be explored.

Prevention of adhesions.

A survey is given on the literature of the prevention of adhesions. Various methods of adhesion prevention are discussed: limitation of peritoneal injury, inhibition of the inflammatory response, prevention of coagulation of fibrinogen, removal of fibrin and mechanical separation of injured mesothelial surfaces.

Effects of gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist addition to gonadotropin induction of ovulation in polycystic ovary syndrome patients.

Meta-analysis of all randomised trials published so far, was performed to compare the effect of additional gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH)-agonist treatment to exogenous gonadotropins for ovulation induction in clomiphene-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients. Five clinical studies were included, of which only one showed significant differences in pregnancy rate. In addition, pretreatment with GnRH-agonist was once reported to lead more often to cancellation of medication. Combining the results of all five trials, a significant difference in favour of additional GnRH-agonist administration could only be observed for pregnancy rate. No significant differences in ovulation rate could be found. Due to the relative small number of patients in each separate group, no conclusions could be drawn concerning the influence of GnRH-agonist treatment on gonadotropin doses necessary to induce ovulation, and the incidence of multiple pregnancy, abortion and ovarian hyperstimulation.

Detection of fetal structural malformations by ultrasound in insulin-dependent pregnant women.

A total of 136 insulin-dependent pregnancies was referred to our ultrasound unit for an anomaly scan. In 94 cases the scan was requested between 17 and 22 weeks of gestation (median 20 weeks), in the remaining 42 cases the patient was not referred until after 24 weeks (median 27 weeks), which is too late for termination of pregnancy to be exercised. From the available data, optimal metabolic control was attempted in at least 80% of cases between 4-8 weeks after conception. The incidence of structural anomalies was 8.1%, the majority comprising cardiac and central nervous system malformations. Prenatal ultrasound detection of fetal structural defects was only feasible in seven (64%) out of 11 affected pregnancies. The missed structural anomalies were of cardiac origin in three cases and of gastrointestinal origin in the remaining case. Maternal obesity was present in 72% of our patients and was responsible for false negative results in three out of four cases with a fetal structural defect. This diagnostic limitation should be discussed with the parents when counselling takes place. The high incidence of structural defects (8.1%) and subsequent high perinatal mortality rate (64%) emphasizes the importance of preconceptional metabolic control in insulin-dependent diabetic women.