Is It Time to Alter the Standard of Care for Iron Deficiency/Iron Deficiency Anemia in Reproductive-Age Women?

Two billion people worldwide suffer from anemia, with reproductive-age women being disproportionately affected. Iron plays a crucial role in cellular function and impacts cognition, physical function, and quality of life. Iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) are associated with adverse effects on pregnancy and fetal development. Oral iron supplementation has been the standard treatment for decades, often producing sub-optimal outcomes. Many babies are still being born with ID and suffer adverse sequelae due to inadequate iron levels in the mothers. Is it time to consider a broad scale-up of parenteral iron as a new standard of care?

Overview of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in women and girls of reproductive age.

Over 50% of pregnant women are anemic and the majority of these are iron deficient. Micronutrient deficiency, the symptom of heavy menstrual bleeding in nonpregnant individuals, and loss of blood associated with pregnancy and obstetric delivery contribute to iron deficiency (ID). Poor outcomes with low maternal iron can affect not only the pregnancy but can also have major bearings on the offspring. Correction of ID and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in pregnant and prepregnant populations with single-dose intravenous iron supplementation may offer improved outcomes. A harmonization process that incorporates all major randomized controlled trials studying the use of single-dose IV iron compared with oral iron may suggest actions for changing the global trajectory of ID/IDA for women and girls of reproductive age.

Mentoring approaches in a safe surgery program in Tanzania: Lessons learned during COVID-19 and recommendations for the future.

Background: COVID-19 has dramatically affected the delivery of health care and technical assistance. This is true in Tanzania, where maternal mortality and surgical infection rates are significantly higher than in high-income countries. This paper describes lessons learned about the optimal application of in-person and virtual mentorship in the Safe Surgery 2020 program to improve the quality of surgical services in Tanzania before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: From January 2018 through December 2020, Safe Surgery 2020 supported 40 health facilities in Tanzania's Lake Zone to improve the quality of surgical care. A blended surgical mentorship model, employing both onsite and virtual mentorship, was central to the program's capacity development approach. With COVID-19, the program pivoted to full virtual mentorship. Through continuous learning and adaptation processes, including a human-centered design workshop, surveys assessing mentors' confidence with different competencies, and focus group discussions with mentors, mentees and safe surgery program staff, the program distilled the optimal use of mentorship models. Results: Developing complex surgical skills, addressing contextual considerations, problem-solving, and building trusting relationships were best suited to in-person mentorship, whereas virtual mentorship was most effective in supporting mentees' quality improvement projects, data use, case discussions, and reinforcing clinical practices. Leading successful virtual learning required enhanced facilitation skills and active engagement of health facility leadership. Conclusions: In-person and virtual mentorship offer distinct benefits and complement each other when combined. Investing more in-person mentorship at the beginning of programs allows for the establishment of trust that is foundational to effective mentorship.

Surgical Burden of Disease in Women.

Globally, an inequitable surgical burden exists. Greater than 90% of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) lack access to safe, affordable surgical care. Also, patients undergoing surgery in LMICs suffer much higher rates of perioperative complications and death. In many LMICs, cesarean section is both underused and overused, and frequently performed unsafely. Obstetric fistula and women's cancers contribute to the surgical burden of women in LMICs. Surgical team nontechnical skills (eg, teamwork and communication) and use of tools such as the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and Enhanced Recovery after Surgery program have the potential to greatly improve surgical outcomes.

Clinical Outcomes of Novel Long-Tapered Sirolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System in Real-World Patients With Long Diffused De Novo Coronary Lesions.

BACKGROUND: When coronary lesions involve segments > 48 mm, the only treatment possibility is stent overlapping which is associated with higher neointimal proliferation that lead to more restenosis. Furthermore, tapering of coronary arteries is a major challenge observed with long diffuse coronary lesions. This study attempted to assess the safety and performance of world's first commercialised long-tapered (60 mm) sirolimus-eluting coronary stent (SES) system for the treatment of long diffused de novo coronary lesions in real world scenario. METHODS: This was a retrospective, non-randomised, multicentre study which included 362 consecutive patients implanted with long-tapered BioMime™ Morph SES system for the treatment of long diffused de novo coronary lesions. Safety endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), which was defined as composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic-driven target lesion revascularization (ID-TLR), at 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Out of 362 patients included, 170 (47.0%) were diabetic and 159 (43.9%) were hypertensive. The mean age of all patients was 61.09 ± 9.04 years. A total of 625 lesions were identified; out of which 402 lesions were intervened successfully using BioMime Morph. The cumulative incidence of MACE was 7 (2.0%) at 12-month follow-up which included four (1.1%) cardiac deaths, one (0.3%) case of MI and two (0.6%) ID-TLR. Acute stent thrombosis was reported in one (0.3%) patient. CONCLUSIONS: The present study confirms the safety and performance of BioMime Morph, and hence, can be considered as a treatment of choice for long diffused tapered de novo coronary lesions in routine clinical practice.

Clinical Outcomes of World's Thinnest (50 µmr) Strut Biodegradable Polymer Coated Everolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent System in Real-World Patients.

BACKGROUND: The thinnest strut platform is revolutionary improvement into the field of percutaneous coronary intervention. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and performance of world's thinnest (50 µm) strut biodegradable polymer coated Evermine 50™ everolimus-eluting coronary stent system (EES) in real-world patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: This was a prospective, single-arm, single-center, post-marketing study in real-world patients. A total of 251 patients with de novo coronary artery lesion (lengths < 44 mm) and/or in-stent restenosis were enrolled and implanted with at least one Evermine 50 EES. The safety endpoint was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), composite of cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI) attributed to the target vessel and clinically-driven target lesion revascularization (CD-TLR), at 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Out of 251 patients enrolled (mean age: 58.20 ± 9.92 years and 193 males), 48.6% and 45.4% patients were diabetic and hypertensive, respectively. A total of 343 lesions were intervened successfully with Evermine 50 out of 474 identified lesions (1.89 lesions per patients). Average stent length and diameter were 23.50 ± 12.21 mm and 2.83 ± 0.23 mm, respectively. At 6-month follow-up, the incidence of MACE was two (0.8%) in the form of one (0.4%) cardiac death and one (0.4%) CD-TLR. In addition, there was no definite or probable stent thrombosis reported up to 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, lower rate of MACE was demonstrated, which reaffirms favourable clinical safety and performance of world's thinnest (50 µm) strut Evermine 50 EES in real-world patients with coronary artery disease.