The meaning of high-risk HPV other than type 16/18 in women with negative cytology: Is it really safe to wait for 1 year?

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a primary risk factor for cervical cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are the two most carcinogenic genotypes and have been reported in the majority of cervical cancer. High-risk HPVs (hrHPVs) other than HPV 16/18 cause approximately a quarter of cervical cancers. We aimed to present the colposcopy-guided biopsy results of non-16/18 hrHPV-infected women with negative cytology. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted on 752 patients between the ages of 30-65 years with non-16/18 hrHPV and negative cytology undergoing colposcopy-guided biopsy at a tertiary gynecological cancer center between January-2016 and January-2019. RESULTS: The mean age of the women was 42.35±9.41 years. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2+ lesion was detected in 49 (6.5%) women with negative cytology. The rate of CIN 2+ lesions in women with abnormal cytology was 12.8%. Patients with abnormal cytology had about 2.1 and 2.4 times increased the odds of CIN 2+ lesion in cervical biopsy and endocervical curettage specimens, respectively. CIN 3+ lesion was detected in 20 (2.7%) women with negative cytology. One (0.1%) of the patients with HPV 39 and negative cytology had invasive cervical cancer. The two most common HPV subtypes were HPV 31 and HPV 51. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of cervical preinvasive lesions still can be detected and cannot be completely eliminated among hrHPV other than 16/18-infected women with negative cytology. Based on the results of this study, referral of non-16/18 hrHPV-infected women with negative cytology to colposcopy is supported as a credible and feasible strategy.

Early low molecular weight heparin for postpartum hemorrhage in women with pre-eclampsia. Is it effective to prevent consumptive coagulopathy?

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage has been one of the most common cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. An association between pre-eclampsia (PE) and postpartum hemorrhage has been shown in previous studies. The aim of this study was to compare some characteristics of postpartum hemorrhage between women with and without PE.Methods: Some characteristics of postpartum hemorrhage were compared between women with (n = 34) and without PE (n = 34). Majority of the cases underwent low molecular heparin administration at postpartum eighth hour, however, in cases who did not give satisfactory responses to blood product transfusions, to block suspected disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) secondary to the PE induced vascular injury, low molecular weight heparins were started within 2 h of postpartum hemorrhage. Some characteristics of cases with and without PE and with and without early low molecular weight heparin administration were compared.Results: There were five cases who needed massive transfusions in group with PE, conversely, no case required massive transfusion in group without PE (p < .05), in these five cases prophylactic dose low molecular weight heparin was started within 2 h of postpartum period, these cases determined according to the changes in hematocrit, platelet, and fibrinogen levels with corresponding transfusions. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly higher in PE group. Highest lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level during follow up was significantly higher in group with PE. Mean numbers of erythrocyte, thrombocyte, and fibrinogen transfusions were significantly higher in PE group. Duration of hospital stay was also significantly higher in group with PE.Conclusions: Postpartum hemorrhage in women with PE may be resistant to blood product transfusions due to DIC and vicious cycle can be blocked by early low molecular weight heparin administration.

Does minimally invasive surgery reduce anxiety?

Objective: To evaluate whether there were any differences in preoperative and postoperative anxiety in patients who underwent total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) (n=37) and total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) (n=37). Material and Methods: All premenopausal patients who underwent TLH or TAH because of benign uterine disorders were enrolled. Anxiety status was assessed 6 hours before and after the operation using standardized validated questionnaires: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results: In the TAH group, the state anxiety level of the patients significantly increased, whereas there was a significant decrease in the TLH group. For the trait anxiety level, there was a statistically significant increase in the TAH group postoperatively. In the TLH group, trait anxiety levels decreased postoperatively. In the analysis of between-group differences, pre and postoperative the state anxiety level was higher in the TAH group. A statistically significant difference was determined between the groups in respect of the postoperative state anxiety levels (p<0.05), but not in the preoperative state anxiety levels (p>0.05). Statistically significant differences were determined between the groups in respect of education, occupation, and curettage rates (p<0.05). Conclusion: Women undergoing TLH for benign uterine disease may have lower levels of preoperative and postoperative anxiety than women undergoing TAH.

Modified abdominal packing method in "near miss" patients with postpartum hemorrhages.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a more effective abdominal packing method in patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation following peripartum hysterectomy due to postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present retrospective and descriptive study was conducted to document six cases with refractory pelvic bleeding who underwent a second surgery for PPH between January 2016 and December 2017 at Istanbul Zeynep Kamil Woman and Children Diseases Training and Research Hospital. RESULTS: Karateke packing was performed to control intra-abdominal massive hemorrhages of five women who were referred to our clinic due to PPH who had undergone peripartum hysterectomy and hypogastric artery ligation but hemostasis could not be provided. In addition, a case of hypovolemic shock due to placenta percreta rupture in a woman who had also undergone an emergency hysterectomy and hypogastric artery ligation, which had failed. Hemostasis was provided in all patients. No method-related complication developed. CONCLUSION: Karateke packing is a very easy method to perform, it is more effective than the classic abdominal packing technique, with a low complication rate, and most importantly, life-saving in patients undergoing a peripartum hysterectomy due to PPH and thereafter experiencing diffuse hemorrhage.

Effect of vaginal washing before intravaginal dinoprostone insertion for labor induction: A randomized clinical trial.

AIM: Prostaglandins have a dual action of cervical ripening and induction of uterine contraction. This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of vaginal washing just before insertion of intravaginal dinoprostone. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Zeynep Kamil Women and Children's Health Training and Research Hospital. One hundred and ninety-one women with singleton, term pregnancy who underwent labor induction were randomly assigned to two groups: Group 1 consisted of 95 pregnant women with vaginal washing before intravaginal dinoprostone (Propess system for slow release system of 10 mg of dinoprostone) insertion (study group), and 96 pregnant women constituted the control group who did not undergo vaginal washing before intravaginal dinoprostone insertion. A parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted with an allocation ratio of 1:1 to compare the effectiveness of vaginal washing before intravaginal dinoprostone insertion. RESULTS: The groups had similar mean age, body mass index, gestational age, gravidity, parity and Bishop score before agent insertion (P > 0.05). Duration of dinoprostone kept intravaginally, duration from the beginning of dinoprostone insert vaginally to the active phase of labor and duration from the time of intravaginal dinoprostone insertion to delivery were significantly longer in the control group (P < 0.05). Uterine hyperstimulation rate was significantly higher in study group compared to control group (P < 0.05). Meconium passage, fetal infection and neonatal intensive care unit admission were significantly higher in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Vaginal washing before intravaginal dinoprostone insertion may increase Prostaglandin E2 bioavailability as we found shorter duration and better outcome of labor induction in the present study.

Retrospective analysis of mature cystic teratomas in a single center and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: The aim af this study is to evaluate patients with mature cystic teratomas (MCT) with regard to the view of updated knowledge using our retrospective findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study and included a total of 306 patients from 2013 through 2017 at the Istanbul Zeynep Kamil Women and Children's Diseases Training and Research Hospital. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 34.03±11.98 years. Thirty (9.8%) patients were postmenopausal. Torsion was detected in 17 (5.6%) patients. There was a statistically significant relationship between MCT and CA 19-9 levels in our series (p<0.01) but no statistically significant correlation was found with other markers. CONCLUSION: The possibility of malignancy at postmenopausal ages and in large MCT should not be forgotten. It should be kept in mind that MCT can be seen in unexpected places.

Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing Embryo Transfers of Cases with and without Catheter Rotation during Its Withdrawal.

OBJECTIVE: To compare embryo transfer (ET) technique based on catheter rotation during its withdrawal in cases with unexplained infertility in a prospective, randomized trial (NCT03097042). METHODS: Two hundred intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) patients undergoing ET with cleaving or blastocyst-stage fresh embryos were randomized into 2 groups: cases with (n = 100), and without (n = 100) catheter rotation during its withdrawal. Groups were matched for age and some clinical parameters. A soft catheter was used to transfer a single embryo with catheter rotation during its withdrawal in the study group and without rotation in the control. The use of a stiff catheter or tenaculum was not needed in any case. Groups were compared in terms of cycle characteristics and clinical pregnancy rates. RESULTS: Pregnancy rate was significantly higher in the study group (41 vs. 26%, p = 0.04). Clinical pregnancy rate was also significantly higher in the study group (39 vs. 25%, OR 1.9 [1.1-3.5], p = 0.05). On the other hand, the ongoing pregnancy rate was similar between the 2 groups (33 vs. 23%, p = 0.2). CONCLUSION: Catheter rotation during its withdrawal may be associated with increased pregnancy and clinical pregnancy rates; however, the difference in ongoing pregnancy rates did not reach statistical significance.

Cytological assessment of endometrial washings obtained with Karman cannula using a liquid-based preparation method for the detection of endometrial pathologies.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and utility of liquid-based cytology in ThinPrep (Cytyc Corporation, Boxborough, MA) for endometrial lesions in patients presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and thirteen women scheduled for dilatation and curettage because of abnormal uterine bleeding were enrolled in the study. After providing informed consent, all the women proceeded sequentially to endometrial cytology and then dilatation and curettage. RESULTS: In the premenopausal group, cytological failure was 4.8%, histopathological failure was 2.4%; cytologic insufficiency in the postmenopausal group was 2.1%, and histopathologic insufficiency was 19.6%. When cytologic and histopathological sufficiency rates were compared in all cases, cytologic insufficiency was 4.2% and histopathologic insufficiency was 6.1%. This difference was statistically significant (p < 0.039). The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the liquid-based endometrial cytology for premenopausal patients were 96.79, 58.33, 97.92, 70, and 96.58%, respectively. In the postmenopausal cases, the accuracy of diagnosis of endometrial cytology was 97.30%, sensitivity 100%, specificity 96.67%, PPV 87.50%, and NPV 100%. When cytologic and histopathologically inadequate cases were excluded, no cytologic and histopathological abnormal findings were found in endometrial thickness cutoff ≤ 5 mm for all patients. CONCLUSION: The use of liquid-based cytology with TVS may contribute to increasing the diagnostic accuracy of the test and reduce unnecessary D&C for women. When TVS is used as a triage indicator, regardless of menopausal status in ≤ 5 mm endometrial thickness cases, endometrial cytology is an absolutely reliable method for detecting cancer.

High estrogen exposure may not be detrimental on endometrial receptivity in women with PCOS.

The study aimed to assess the effect of high estrogen exposure and coasting on cycle outcome in women at risk for developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Retrospective case-control study was conducted to figure out the outcomes of GnRH antagonist cycles in which women were at risk to develop OHSS. Women who underwent coasting (n = 100) were compared with a control group of women who did not undergo coasting (n = 287). Effect of endometrial estrogen exposure was determined by calculating area under curve of temporal estrogen measurements (AUCEM) through the cycle. Among 387 women with PCOS, 100 cases were required to undergo coasting to avoid OHSS. All participants reached to embryo transfer stage and clinical pregnancy rate was 44% in group with coasting whereas 39% in group without coasting (p > .05). AUCEM was a significant predictor for the cases who required coasting to avoid OHSS (AUC = 0.754, p < .001). Optimal cut off value was calculated to be 6762 with 71% sensitivity and 67% specificity. ROC analysis showed no predictive value of AUCEM for clinical pregnancy in subgroup of women with coasting (AUC = 0.496, p > .05). Consistently, ROC analysis showed no predictive value of AUCEM for clinical pregnancy in subgroup of women without coasting (AUC = 0.494, p > .05). In conclusion, neither coasting nor the high endometrial estrogen exposure was found to have detrimental effect on endometrial receptivity and cycle outcome in PCOS.

Evaluation of complete blood count parameters to predict endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: Complete blood count parameters have been introduced to be diagnostic biomarkers for many cancer-related diseases associated with inflammatory process. The aim of our study was to detect whether there is any relationship between benign or malignant endometrial pathologies and complete blood count parameters. METHODS: Four hundred and sixteen patients with a complaint of abnormal uterine bleeding who admitted to Zeynep Kamil Women and Children's Health Training and Research hospital between 2013 and 2016 and undergoing endometrial biopsy were included in the study. The patients were evaluated in three groups as follows: endometrial carcinoma (n: 97), endometrial hyperplasia (n: 135), and healthy control (n: 184) groups. All patients had a complete blood count on the day of biopsy or within the week of the biopsy, and the presence of a relationship between complete blood count parameters and benign or malignant endometrial disease was investigated. RESULTS: Mean corpuscular volume measurements were found to be significantly higher in endometrial carcinoma (P = .018) and endometrial hyperplasia (P = .001) groups compared to the control group. While red cell distribution width measurements were found to be significantly lower in patients with endometrial carcinoma group compared to other groups (P < .01); the area under curve obtained for MPV is 58.7% to determine endometrial carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Mean corpuscular volume and red cell distribution width are bio-markers that we can use as the predictive marker in patients with endometrial carcinoma and which are cheap, repeatable, and readily obtainable from complete blood count panels and promising.

Dual trigger with gonadotropin-releasing hormone and human chorionic gonadotropin for poor responders

OBJECTIVE: To compare metaphase II (MII) rate, fertilization rate, and embryo quality with dual trigger gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH) and normal dose human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) versus a normal dose hCG trigger in antagonist intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles of poor ovarian responders. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients defined as poor ovarian responders according to the Bologna criteria who underwent ICSI with GnRH antagonist protocol and triggered with dual trigger or hCG alone for oocyte maturation. Main outcome measures were MII rate, fertilization rate, and embryo quality. RESULTS: Total gonadotropin doses and E2 levels on trigger day were higher in the hCG trigger group. There were no significant differences with regard to implantation rate (p=0.304), biochemical pregnancy rate (p=0.815), clinical pregnancy rate (p=0.378), and ongoing pregnancy rate (p=0.635) between the groups. CONCLUSION: Dual trigger of oocyte maturation with GnRH agonist and normal dose hCG in poor responders does not demonstrate improved oocyte maturation, clinical pregnancy, and ongoing pregnancy rates.

Comparison of readmission rates between groups with early versus late discharge after vaginal or cesarean delivery: a retrospective analyzes of 14,460 cases.

AIM: The aim of this retrospective analysis was to show the readmission rate of cases with and without early discharge following vaginal or cesarean delivery. METHODS: After exclusion of cases with pregnancy, delivery and neonatal complications, a total of 14,460 cases who delivered at Zeynep Kamil Women and Children's Health Training and Research Hospital were retrospectively screened from hospital database. Subjects were divided into two groups as Group 1: early discharge (n = 6802) and Group 2: late discharge (n = 7658). Groups were compared in terms of readmission rates and indications for readmission. RESULTS: There were 6802 cases with early discharge whereas the remaining women were discharged after 24 h for vaginal delivery and 48 h following cesarean delivery on regular bases. Among cases with early discharge, 205 (3%) cases readmitted to emergency service with variable indications, while there were 216 (2.8%) readmitted women who were discharged on regular bases. Most common indication for readmission was wound infection in both groups. Neonatal sex distributions were similar between groups (p > .05), where as there was a higher rate of cesarean deliveries in Group 2 (p < .05). Furthermore, cesarean rate was significantly higher in readmitted women with early discharge (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Similar readmission rates were observed in groups with early and late discharges following vaginal or cesarean delivery without any mortality or permanent morbidity and cost analyses revealed 68 Turkish liras lower cost with early discharge.

Can we predict severity of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy using inflammatory markers?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of inflammatory markers with severity of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective case-control study was conducted with 229 pregnant women, 84 with ICP, and 145 age-matched healthy pregnant women. Patients were categorized as mild ICP (<40 µmol/L) and severe ICP (≥40 µmol/L) with regard to serum bile acids. Inflammatory markers (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to- lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) were compared between the groups. RESULTS: Patients with ICP had significantly decreased RDW and increased white blood cell counts (WBC), MPV and PLR, but no significant changes in NLR. The comparison of mild and severe cases with regard to NLR, PLR, WBC, and RDW was similar (p>0.05). MPV levels were significantly increased in severe group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: WBC, MPV, and PLR were the inflammatory markers significantly increased, and RDW was signifantly reduced in ICP. MPV was the marker that significantly increased with the severity of disease. The use of inflammatory markers in the assessment of perinatal outcomes needs further studies.

Maternal-fetal outcome associated with adolescent pregnancy in a tertiary referral center: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to compare pregnancy outcomes of early-middle adolescent, late adolescent and adult women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study focused on early-middle adolescent (n = 145), late adolescent (n = 1655) and adult (n = 1585) women who gave birth during 2014 through 2017, utilizing data obtained from the Zeynep Kamil Women and Children's Health Training and Research Hospital. Pregnancy outcomes were determined according to the rates of preg¬nancy complications, including method of delivery, birth weight, as well as the rate of newborn intensive care admissions. RESULTS: Comparisons between the studied groups for various pregnancy complications showed highest rates of pre¬term deliveries (PD), preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and neonatal intensive care unit admission in early-middle adolescent group, whereas the highest cesarean section rates were observed in the adult group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the data revealed that adolescent pregnancy, especially the early-middle adolescent pregnancies, is associated with increased risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes.