The anti-Müllerian hormone: A useful tool for diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most frequent endocrine disorder that affects reproductive-age women with important long-term health implications. As such, the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) was proposed as a helpful test to identify women with PCOS. The aim of this study was to determine an AMH cut-off value for the diagnosis of PCOS. METHODS: This was a two-year cross-sectional study including women of reproductive age, diagnosed with PCOS according to Rotterdam criteria (2003). The control group of healthy women was age-matched. AMH was performed using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. AMH levels were compared and evaluated with the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: A total of 130 women were enrolled in this study. Of these, 65 were diagnosed with PCOS, and 65 were healthy. No significant difference was detected in body mass index between the two groups. AMH levels were significantly higher in women with PCOS (p = < 0.001). No significant difference in AMH levels was detected between PCOS phenotypes. A cut-off of 25.1 pmol/L (3.5 ng/mL) could discriminate women with PCOS from controls with a sensitivity of 74% and specificity of 72.3%. The area under the curve was 0.811 (95% CI: 0.73-0.88). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that AMH had good diagnostic potential as a complement to Rotterdam criteria for PCOS diagnosis in reproductive-age women of Tunisian origin.

Diagnostic value of miR-199a and miR-21 in the plasma of infertile women with dysregulated AMH levels.

This work aimed to explore the expression pattern of circulating miR-199a-3p, miR-21-5p and miR-let7i-3p in infertile women with dysregulated AMH levels. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure miR-199a-3p, miR-21-5p, and miR-let7i-3p expression levels in 60 plasma samples of infertile women with low or high AMH levels. Bioinformatic analyses for microRNAs predicting target genes and molecular pathways were performed according to gene ontology (GO) analysis and KEGG pathways. Only miR-199a-3p and miR-21-5p were significantly over and under-expressed, respectively, in the plasma samples of all infertile women with low or high AMH levels versus controls (p-value = 0.01). Furthermore, the diagnostic value miR-199a-3p yielded a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82 with a 95% CI [0.72-0.92] and an AUC of 0.81, for miR-21-5p, 95% CI [0.69-0.92]. The combined ROC curve of miR-21 and miR-199a provided an optimal combination with AUC = 0.98, 95% CI [0.96-1], and, a cut-off point (0.42) which provided 98% sensitivity and 87% specificity. In conclusion, circulating miR-199a-3p and miR-21-5p vary significantly whenever AMH levels of infertile women are disturbed and could potentially serve as non-invasive biomarkers in distinguishing infertile from fertile women.

Prognostic factors in inflammatory breast cancer: A single-center study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that poor prognostic indicators of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) include younger age at diagnosis, poorer tumor grade, negative estrogen receptor, lesser degree of pathological response in the breast and lymph nodes. METHODS: This is a retrospective study conducted over a period of 12 years between January 2008 and December 2019 at the medical oncology department at Habib Bourguiba University Hospital in Sfax. We included in this study women with confirmed IBC. We excluded patients with no histological evidence, those whose medical records were unusable. Data collection was done from patient files. The aim of this study was to analyze the factors of poor prognosis of this entity. RESULTS: During a period of 12 years (2008-2019), 2879 cases of breast cancer were treated at Habib Bourguiba hospital in Sfax. 81 IBC were included. The incidence of IBC was 3%. The average age was 52.4 years (26-87 years). Invasive ductal carcinoma was the most frequent histological type (85.7%). Hormone receptor were positive in 64%. Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-2 (HER2) was overexpressed in 35.9% of cases. The proliferation index Ki-67 was analyzed in 34 cases. It was >20% in 24 cases. Luminal A, luminal B, HER2+++, triple negative were found in 13%, 50.7%, 16% and 20% respectively. Metastases at diagnosis were found in 38%. Poor prognostic factors significantly influencing overall survival in univariate analysis were metastatic stage, high SBR grade, lymph node involvement, in particular greater than 3 nodes, negative hormone receptors, triple-negative molecular profile and occurrence of relapse. CONCLUSION: Number of positive lymph nodes greater than 3 and the occurrence of relapse were independent prognostic factors in case of localized IBC. Metastatic stage was associated with a very poor prognosis.

Predictors of maternal and neonatal complications in women with severe valvular heart disease during pregnancy in Tunisia: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Severe valvular heart disease, especially stenosis, is a contraindication for conception according to the World Health Organization. This is still encountered in countries with a high rheumatic fever prevalence. The objective of this study was to determine predictors of maternal cardiac, obstetric and neonatal complications in pregnant women with severe valve disease. METHODS: This is an observational retrospective cohort study of all pregnant women with severe heart valvulopathy who gave birth between 2010 and 2017. RESULTS: We included 60 pregnancies in 54 women. Cardiac complications occurred during 37 pregnancies (61%). In multivariate analysis, parity (aOR =2.41, 95% CI[1.12-5.16]), revelation of valvulopathy during pregnancy (aOR = 6.34; 95% CI[1.26-31.77]), severe mitral stenosis (aOR = 6.98, 95% CI[1.14-41.05],) and systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (aOR =1.08, 95% CI[1.01-1.14]) were associated with cardiac complications. Obstetrical complications were noted during 19 pregnancies (31.8%). These complications were associated with nulliparity (aOR = 5.22; 95% CI[1.15-23.6]), multiple valve disease (aOR = 5.26, 95% CI[1.19-23.2]), systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (aOR =1.04, 95% CI[1.002-1.09]), and treatment with vitamin K antagonists (aOR = 8.71, 95% CI[1.98-38.2]). Neonatal complications were noted in 39.3% of newborns (n = 61) and these were associated with occurrence of obstetric complications (aOR = 16.47, 95% CI[3.2-84.3]) and revelation of valvulopathy during pregnancy (aOR = 7.33, 95% CI[1.4-36.1]). CONCLUSIONS: Revelation of valvular heart disease during pregnancy is a predictor of not only cardiac but also neonatal complications. Valvular heart disease screening during pre-conceptional counseling is thus crucial.

Tunisian Recommendations for resumption of Reproductive Medicine activity in the Covid-19 pandemic.

The activity of the Reproductive Medicine poses a dilemma in this pandemic Covid-19. In fact, this is a theoretically non-emergency activity except for fertility preservation with oncological reasons. The majority of fertility societies in the world such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) recommended stopping the inclusion of new patients and continuing only the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles that have already been initiated by promoting Freeze-all as much as possible. Initilaly, the "Société Tunisienne de Gynécologie Obstétrique" (STGO) issued national recommendations that echo the international recommendations. These recommendations were followed by the majority of IVF center in Tunisia. However, a number of new data are prompting us to update these recommendations.

Ovarian Cancer and Breast Metastases: A Diagnostic Dilemma.

Metastases of ovarian carcinoma to the breast are uncommon. The incidence of ovarian metastasis to the breast ranges from 0.5% to 1.2%. Nevertheless, its detection and distinction from other primaries, especially primary breast carcinoma, is important as treatment and prognosis differ significantly. We report the case of a 38-year-old Tunisian woman with bilateral metastases to breast from ovarian carcinoma. Through a review of literature, we discuss the clinical, radiological and histological characteristics of ovarian metastases to the breast.

Human miscarriage and infection in Tunisia: Role of Mycoplasma hominis and high Waddlia seroprevalence.

INTRODUCTION: Miscarriage is one of the most common adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between miscarriage in humans and infections caused by zoonotic bacteria and genital pathogens. METHODOLOGY: Cervicovaginal swabs and placenta samples from 132 women with miscarriage (patient group: PG), and cervicovaginal swabs from 54 women with normal pregnancy (control group:CG), were subjected to bacteriological culture and real time PCRs detecting Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp, Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Chlamydia trachomatis, Waddlia chondrophila and Parachlamydia acanthamoebeae DNA. Serology of C. burnetii, C. trachomatis and W. chondrophila was also performed. RESULTS: Placenta samples were positive for E. coli, S. agalactiae, U. urealyticum, M. hominis and C. trachomatis in 4.7%, 3.1%, 3.1%, 0.7% and 0.7% of cases, respectively. For cervicovaginal swabs, M. hominis was more frequently detected among PG than CG with a significant statistical difference (p = 0.02). C. trachomatis was detected in 3.3% and 5.5% among PG and CG, respectively. U. urealyticum DNA was detected with high percentages in the two groups. Samples from both groups showed negatives results for C. burnetii, Waddlia, and Brucella qPCRs. A high rate of W. chondrophila seroprevalence (42%) was noted with significant difference among women with early miscarriage. CONCLUSIONS: C. trachomatis, S. agalactiae and M. hominis may play a role in miscarriage. However, the full characterization of the vaginal flora using other technologies such as NGS-based metagenomics is needed to clarify their role in miscarriage. Finally, further investigations should be performed to explain high W. chondrophila seroprevalence.

Vulvar cancer in Tunisia: Epidemiological and clinicopathological features multicentric study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe for the first time the epidemiologic and clinico-pathologic characteristics of vulvar cancer in Tunisia. DESIGN: Two parts are distinguished in this study: Part1: Multicentric retrospective study about the characteristics of all cancer cases diagnosed during a 17-years period (January 1998-December 2014) in three departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics: one in south Tunisia and two in the capital. Part 2: To determine the Incidence trend of invasive vulvar cancer in North Tunisia 1994-2009, on the basis of North Cancer Registry of Tunisia. RESULTS: A total of 76 cases of vulvar cancer were recorded. The median age at diagnosis was 65.4years and 86.9% of patients were more than 55years old. The symptomatology was dominated by vulvar pruritus in 48.7%. The average size of the tumor was 3.96cm. Stage III was the most frequent (53.7%) followed by stage II (28.3%). Only 10.4% of tumors were at stage I. The most common histologic type of vulvar malignancy was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (94.7%). Standardized incidence varied from 1.2/100 000 (1994) to 0.5/100 000 (2009). There was significant decrease of Standardized incidence (APC of -8.8% per year, 95% CI: -5.5%, -9.0%-p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Vulvar cancer in Tunisia is a rare disease, occurs mostly in elderly women, and is diagnosed at advanced stages. Our findings emphasize that a greater effort should be made to facilitate early diagnosis, as treatment in earlier stages is less extensive and potentially curative.

[Factor V deficiency and pregnancy: a case report]. / Déficit constitutionnel en facteur V et grossesse : à propos d'un cas.

The factor V deficiency is a very rare hereditary disease of the coagulation, which is accompanied by a high hemorrhagic risk in the event of delivery and in the post-partum. We report the case of a woman having a factor V deficiency which had a pregnancy, and which gave birth by Cesarean, as replacement therapy we proposed the transfusion of 20 mL/kg of fresh frozen plasma before surgery and of 5 mL/kg by 12 h during 7 days in post-partum, this attitude allowed to avoid the hemorrhagic complications.