The effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on women presenting with pelvic organ prolapse.

PURPOSE: To determine whether there is a difference in pelvic organ prolapse (POP) stage at time of presentation after lifting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions, as compared to before the lockdown. Enhancing our understanding of how healthcare utilization for pelvic floor disorders may be affected by limited accessibility, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could prove invaluable for similar future circumstances. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of women with POP at their initial visit. Patients were grouped into two cohorts based on their initial presentation time: pre-COVID-19 lockdown (before March 2020) and post-COVID-19 lockdown (after December 2020). The cohorts were compared using demographic, clinical, and surgical variables. A logistic regression controlling for confounders was used to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on prolapse stage. RESULTS: There were 656 (50.3%) patients in the pre-COVID-19 lockdown cohort and 648 (49.7%) in the post-COVID-19 lockdown cohort. All baseline characteristics were similar between both cohorts except for race (p = 0.015). Treatment choices differed with the post-COVID-19 lockdown cohort having a lower proportion (26.5%) opting for surgery and a higher proportion (50.5%) of patients opting for nonsurgical interventions compared to the pre-COVID-19 lockdown cohort (p = 0.0005). A higher proportion of women presented with stages I and II prolapse in the post-COVID-19 lockdown (70.4%) cohort as compared to the pre-COVID-19 lockdown (62.5%) cohort (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Women in the post-COVID-19 lockdown cohort presented with early stage prolapse with preference for more conservative treatment options.

Impact of microbiota and host immunologic response on the efficacy of anticholinergic treatment for urgency urinary incontinence.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Studies within the past decade have suggested associations among composition of the urinary microbiota, local immune responses, and urinary incontinence symptoms. To investigate these relationships, we evaluated the structure of the urinary microbiome, local inflammatory markers, and patient responses prior to and at 6-weeks after treatment with anticholinergic medication for urgency urinary incontinence (UUI). METHODS: Using a prospective pilot study, we enrolled women who presented with UUI symptoms and were prescribed treatment with anticholinergics. Catheterized urine samples were collected from participants at their baseline and 6-week follow-up visits for microbiological (standard and 16S rRNA gene phylotyping analyses) and cytokine analysis along with the UDI-6 questionnaire and 2-day bladder diary. RESULTS: Patients were Caucasian, post- menopausal, with a median age of 64 and median BMI of 30.1 kg/m2. Among the patients, 75% had UUI symptoms for less than 2 years, but with a frequency of at least a few times a week or every day. Most women were prescribed 10 mg oxybutynin ER daily at enrollment. Patients had varied urinary microbiota by culture and 16S phylotyping, with species of Lactobacillus being the most common, in six samples, in addition to taxa associated with Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, and mixed flora. Cytokine levels showed no differences before and after treatment with anticholinergics, nor correlation with urinary bacteria or microbiome composition. CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study suggests factors in addition to the urinary microbiome and local immune responses may be involved in patients' response to anticholinergics for UUI.

Number of patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome seen before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic at an academic, urban, multisite urogynecology practice.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). We aim to compare the number of newly diagnosed IC/BPS cases and number of patients with flares prior to and during the pandemic. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of women ≥18 years who were diagnosed with or treated for IC/BPS between March 2019 and March 2021 at an academic, urban, multisite urogynecology practice. The primary outcome was the number of IC/BPS cases from March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020 (pre-pandemic) compared with March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021 (during pandemic). The secondary outcome was the number of patients with flares during those same two time periods. Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared using nonparametric tests and interrupted time series (ITS) was used to evaluate our outcomes of interest. p-Value <.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Fifty-four women (4.87% of new patients) were diagnosed with IC/BPS during the pandemic compared with 40 women pre-pandemic (4.05% of new patients). The median age was 35.0. Seventy-two percent were premenopausal, 75% sexually active, and 31% had anxiety, and there were no significant differences between groups. Although the number of patients newly diagnosed with IC/BPS was higher during the pandemic, the diagnosis rates between time periods were not statistically different. Thirty-five patients experienced flares during the pandemic compared with 49 patients the year prior (p = .43). This difference was also not statistically significant on ITS analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Although more patients were diagnosed with IC/BPS during versus before the pandemic, the difference in diagnosis rates was not different between these periods.

Risk Factors for Missed Appointments at a Multisite Academic Urban Urogynecology Practice.

IMPORTANCE: Missed appointments lead to decreased clinical productivity and poor health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to describe sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients who miss urogynecology appointments and identify risk factors for missed appointments. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted an institutional review board-approved case-control study of women 18 years or older scheduled for a urogynecology appointment at 1 of 4 sites associated with an urban academic tertiary care center over 4 months. Patients were included in the missed appointment group if they canceled their appointments the same day or did not show up for them. For comparison, we included a control group consisting of patients immediately preceding or following the ones who missed their appointments with the same visit type. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for missed appointments. RESULTS: Four hundred twenty-six women were included: 213 in the missed appointment group and 213 in the control group. Women who missed appointments were younger (60 years [interquartile range (IQR), 47-72 years] vs 69 years [IQR, 59-78 years], P < 0.0001). More women in the missed appointment group were Hispanic (24.4% vs 13.1%) and non-Hispanic Black (7.5% vs 3.8%, P = 0.009), had Medicaid (17.4% vs 6.57%, P = 0.0006), missed previous appointments (24.9% vs 11.7% P = 0.0005), waited longer for appointments (39 days [IQR, 23.5-55.5 days] vs 30.5 days [IQR, 12.8-47.0 days], P = 0.002), and made appointments for urinary incontinence (44.1% vs 26.8%, P = 0.0002). On multivariate logistic regression, women with Medicaid had significantly higher odds of missing appointments (adjusted OR, 2.11 [1.04-4.48], P = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: Women with Medicaid were more likely to miss urogynecology appointments. Further research is needed to address barriers this group faces when accessing care.

Differences in Risks for Recurrent Injury and Death Among Survivors of Violence by Homeless Status.

A better understanding of the unique risks for survivors of violence experiencing homelessness could enable more effective intervention methods. The aim of this study was to quantify the risks of death and reinjury for unhoused compared to housed survivors of violent injuries. This retrospective study included a cohort of patients with known housing status presenting to the Boston Medical Center Emergency Department between 2009 and 2018 with a violent penetrating injury. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the risks of all-cause mortality and violent reinjury. Of the 2330 patients included for analysis, 415 (17.8%) were unhoused at the time of index injury. Within 3 years of the index injury, there were 319 (13.9%) violent reinjuries and 55 (2.4%) deaths. Unhoused patients were more likely than housed patients to be violently reinjured by all causes (HR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.06-1.83, p = 0.02), by stab wound (HR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.33-4.11, p = 0.0003), and by blunt assault (HR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.05-2.21, p = 0.03). Housed and unhoused patients were equally likely to die within 3 years of their index injury; however, unhoused patients were at greater risk of dying by homicide (HR = 2.89, 95% CI = 1.34-6.25, p = 0.006) or by a drug/alcohol overdose (HR = 2.86, 95% CI = 1.17-6.94, p = 0.02). In addition to the already high risks that all survivors of violence have for recurrent injuries, unhoused survivors of violence are at even greater risk for violent reinjury and death and fatal drug/alcohol overdose. Securing stable housing for survivors of violence experiencing homelessness, and connecting them with addiction treatment, is essential for mitigating these risks.

Voiding Trial Outcomes After Prolapse Surgery: Before Versus During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

IMPORTANCE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed practice patterns resulting in same-day discharge after most urogynecologic surgical procedures. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine if COVID-19 practice patterns changed patients' voiding trial (VT) results after surgery. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study of women undergoing urogynecologic surgery at an academic tertiary care center. We compared patients who had surgery between January 1, 2019, and February 28, 2020, (pre-COVID, discharged on postoperative day [POD] 1) with those who underwent surgery between January 1, 2021, and February 28, 2022, (during COVID, discharged on POD 0 or POD 1). Demographics, surgical characteristics, and VT results were compared using nonparametric tests. A logistic regression was performed to adjust for confounders. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 237 patients were included. Patients were mostly White, older than 65 years (interquartile range, 56-73 years), and had a median parity of 2 (interquartile range, 2-3). Approximately 31% of patients in the pre-COVID group failed their VT, whereas 38% in the during-COVID group failed ( P = 0.275). Moreover, 40.5% of women discharged the day of surgery failed their VT ( P = 0.172). Compared with the pre-COVID group, more patients in the during-COVID group and those discharged on POD 0 contacted their surgeons with questions postoperatively (20.5% vs 35.0% and 35.4%, P = 0.014 and 0.022, respectively). Rates of urinary tract infection were similar by period and discharge day ( P > 0.05). There was no statistical association between day of discharge or the COVID-19 pandemic and VT results. CONCLUSIONS: Neither day of discharge nor the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on postoperative outcomes, including urinary retention, after urogynecologic surgery. Same-day discharge is appropriate for most patients.

The effect of preoperative scopolamine patch use on postoperative urinary retention in urogynecologic surgeries.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: This study aims to determine whether the use of preoperative transdermal scopolamine is associated with an increased risk of postoperative urinary retention in urogynecologic surgeries. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review study of women who underwent surgery between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020. Patients who received a scopolamine patch versus those who did not were compared using demographic and perioperative variables utilizing Pearson's chi-squared test and t-test of Wilcoxon rank-sum. A logistic regression was performed to evaluate the effect of scopolamine on the patients' postoperative voiding trial results, controlling for confounders. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 449 women underwent a vaginal or laparoscopic hysterectomy, midurethral sling placement, uterosacral or sacrospinous ligament suspension, sacrocolpopexy, anterior/posterior colporrhaphy, or other urogynecologic surgeries with 109 (24.2%) having received transdermal scopolamine. A significantly higher number of women with preoperative scopolamine [n = 50 (45.9%)] failed their voiding trial compared to those without scopolamine [n = 100 (29.4%), p = 0.0016]. The adjusted model yielded an odds ratio of 1.75 (95% CI: 1.08-2.85) of a failed voiding trial in the scopolamine group. When comparing the odds of failing voiding trial by surgery type, those with a midurethral sling placed during surgery had an adjusted odds ratio of 3.12 (95% CI: 2.01-4.87), as compared to those without a midurethral sling. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a transdermal scopolamine patch for nausea and vomiting prophylaxis is associated with increased risk of postoperative urinary retention across all urogynecologic surgeries.

Use of smartphone mobility data to analyze city park visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic focused attention on city parks as important public resources. However, monitoring park use over time poses practical challenges. Thus, pandemic-related trends are unknown. Methods: We analyzed monthly mobility data from a large panel of smartphone devices, to assess park visits from January 2018 to November 2020 in the 50 largest U.S. cities. Results: In our sample of 11,890 city parks, visits declined by 36.0 % (95 % CI [27.3, 43.6], p < 0.001) from March through November 2020, compared to prior levels and trends. When we segmented the COVID-19 period into widespread closures (March-April) and reopenings (May-November), we estimated a small rebound in visits during reopenings. In park service areas where a greater proportion of residents were White and highincome, this rebound effect was larger. Conclusions: Smartphone data can address an important gap for monitoring park visits. Park visits declined substantially in 2020 and disparities appeared to increase.