Fertility preservation knowledge, attitudes and intentions among children by proxy and adolescents with cancer.

RESEARCH QUESTION: The current study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes and intentions in relation to fertility preservation among children, by proxy, and adolescents with cancer. Although fertility preservation options have been developed to mitigate the adverse long-term effects of life-saving cancer treatment on fertility, fertility is difficult for children and adolescents to conceptualize, especially when they face a cancer diagnosis. DESIGN: This was a descriptive, semi-quantitative analysis. Adolescents and parents of children or adolescents within 6 months of a cancer diagnosis and undergoing gonadotoxic treatment were invited to participate. Seventy-one families completed and returned the study's questionnaire (91 questionnaires) over a period of 26 months. RESULTS: The vast majority of participants were aware of the gonadotoxic effects of cancer treatment (85%) and had positive attitudes towards fertility preservation (>90%), but only a portion of them (20%) were willing to take action towards this goal. Although adolescent-parent pairs had similar attitudes towards fertility preservation, adolescents tended to be more sceptical about experimental fertility preservation options. Male post-pubertal cancer patients were more likely to be offered fertility preservation counselling or referral to a specialist in comparison to their younger and female counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Fertility preservation care has advanced but there are still gender and age differences in counselling and treatment initiation in the paediatric and adolescent cancer population. Interventions to improve provider-patient-parent communication regarding fertility preservation and to help patients address the observed intention-behaviour gap in relation to fertility preservation options are needed.

Male central hypogonadism secondary to exogenous androgens: a review of the drugs and protocols highlighted by the online community of users for prevention and/or mitigation of adverse effects.

Androgen- or anabolic steroid-induced hypogonadism (ASIH) is no longer confined to professional athletes; its prevalence amongst young men and teenagers using androgens and/or anabolic steroids (AASs) is rising fast, and those affected can experience significant symptoms. Clinicians are increasingly encountering demanding, well-informed men affected by ASIH, yet lacking authoritative information on the subject may struggle to project a credible message. In this article, we overview the methods and drugs that men use in an attempt to counteract ASIH (with a view to either preventing its onset, or reversing it once it has developed) and summarize the scientific evidence underpinning these. The main channel for obtaining these drugs is the Internet, where they can be readily sourced without a valid prescription. An Internet search using relevant terms revealed a huge number of websites providing advice on how to buy and use products to counteract ASIH. Drugs arising repeatedly in our search included human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and aromatase inhibitors (AIs). The quality and accuracy of the online information was variable, but review of medical literature also highlighted a lack of scientific data to guide clinical practice. It is important for clinicians to be aware of the AAS user's self-treatment strategies with regard to ASIH side-effect mitigation. By ensuring that they are well-informed, clinicians are more likely to retain the credibility and trust of AAS users, who will in turn likely be more open to engage with appropriate management.

"Let Me Keep My Dead Husband's Sperm": Ethical Issues in Posthumous Reproduction.

The feasibility of posthumous reproduction when the surviving partner is female has brought to light many ethical, moral, social, and legal issues. This review aims to summarize these issues and to assist clinicians who may be faced with such requests. A question list, used for health technologies assessment, was utilized in a question-answer approach as the review methodology. Of the 1,208 publications identified through a comprehensive literature search in biomedical, psychological, and ethical databases, 31 articles included arguments related to one or more questions from the predefined question set. Key stakeholders identified include the deceased, the requesting party, the resultant child, the physician, and society. Key ethical issues relevant to posthumous reproduction include the four traditional pillars of medical ethics--autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice--as well as the stakeholders' rights and sociocultural attitudes. The ethical framework formulated by these issues has been incorporated in a clinical ethics decision-making tool that could prove useful to clinicians and decision makers.

Uterine-sparing minimally invasive interventions in women with uterine fibroids: a systematic review and indirect treatment comparison meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of uterine-sparing interventions for women with symptomatic uterine fibroids who wish to preserve their uterus. DESIGN: Systematic review and indirect comparison meta-analysis. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, conference proceedings, trial registers and reference lists were searched up to October 2013 for randomized controlled trials. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures were patient satisfaction, re-intervention and complications rates, reproductive outcomes, and hospitalization and recovery times. RESULTS: Five trials, involving 436 women were included; two compared uterine artery embolization with myomectomy and three compared uterine artery embolization with laparoscopic uterine artery occlusion. Indirect treatment comparison showed that myomectomy and uterine artery embolization resulted in higher rates of patient satisfaction (odds ratio 2.56, 95% credible interval 0.56-11.75 and 2.7, 95% credible interval 1.1-7.14, respectively) and lower rates of clinical failure (odds ratio 0.29, 95% credible interval 0.06-1.46 and 0.37, 95% credible interval 0.13-0.93, respectively) than laparoscopic uterine artery occlusion. Myomectomy resulted in lower re-intervention rate than uterine artery embolization (odds ratio 0.08, 95% credible interval 0.02-0.27) and laparoscopic uterine artery occlusion (odds ratio 0.08, 95% credible interval 0.01-0.37) even though the latter techniques had an advantage over myomectomy because of shorter hospitalization and quicker recovery. There was no evidence of difference between the three techniques in ovarian failure and complications rates. The evidence for reproductive outcomes is poor. CONCLUSION: Our study's results suggest that laparoscopic uterine artery occlusion is less effective than uterine artery embolization and myomectomy in treatment of symptomatic fibroids. The choice between uterine artery embolization and myomectomy should be based on individuals' expectations and fully informed discussion.

The association between mode of delivery and developmental dysplasia of the hip in breech infants: a systematic review of 9 cohort studies.

Although developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a relatively common disorder, its aetiology remains elusive. The authors undertook a systematic review to determine whether there is an association between DDH and vaginal or caesarean delivery for singleton breech infants. The review focussed on cohort studies which provided risk estimates for DDH in breech-presenting infants, as a function of mode of delivery. Nine cohort studies with 35,139 infants were found. In the short-term, breech infants delivered through caesarean section had a significantly lower risk (13.5% less) for DDH: 5.95%, versus 6.88% (weighted values) in the vaginal delivery group (p = 0.008) {RR = 0.87 (95% CI 0.78-0.97)}. This might be mediated by the reduced stretch of the hip capsule, due to the absence of increased uterine pressure, which normally occurs in the active phase of labour. This pleads for the hypothesis that the mode of delivery is the critical factor promoting dislocation, not the breech presentation itself. Long-term data were not available, so that the overall effectiveness of caesarean section compared to vaginal delivery could not be established.

Fertility Preservation Care for Children and Adolescents with Cancer: An Inquiry to Quantify Professionals' Barriers.

PURPOSE: There is a growing interest in fertility preservation as emerging research is highlighting the prevalence of infertility among young cancer survivors and its negative impact on quality of life. Previous qualitative research has identified barriers of fertility preservation care among professionals. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of these barriers among pediatric and adolescent oncology healthcare professionals and evaluate factors that influence them. METHODS: Based on previously identified barriers and experts' input, a questionnaire was developed and sent to 88 professionals drawn from the multidisciplinary pediatric and adolescent oncology team of a large Principal Treatment Centre. Multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate which factors influence professional adherence to fertility preservation care. RESULTS: In total, 48 (55%) professionals responded and were included in the analysis. All pediatric and adolescent oncology healthcare professionals reported at least one barrier to fertility preservation care. Even though some interdisciplinary differences were observed, the most frequently endorsed barriers were focusing on patients' characteristics (age, health status, urgency of cancer treatment, and lack of interest in fertility issues). The least frequently endorsed barriers were related to organizational aspects (availability of fertility specialists, time constrains, and ability to raise fertility issues). Nurses and allied healthcare professionals endorsed knowledge or policy gaps as barriers to a greater degree than medical doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that educational support provision, especially for nurses and allied healthcare professionals, and strengthening interdisciplinary collaborations could help overcome observed barriers and facilitate fertility discussions with pediatric and young cancer patients.

Endometrial injury prior to assisted reproductive techniques for recurrent implantation failure: a systematic literature review.

Endometrial injury to improve implantation for women undergoing assisted reproductive techniques has attracted a lot of attention recently and has rapidly become incorporated into clinical practice. The aim of this study is, thus, to assess the effectiveness and safety of endometrial injury performed in the cycle preceding assisted reproductive techniques in women with recurrent implantation failure. Electronic database searches, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL and grey literature, up to 30th May 2015 were conducted with no restrictions. Randomized controlled trials comparing endometrial injury versus placebo or no treatment in the cycle preceding assisted reproductive techniques in women with recurrent implantation failure were selected. The primary outcome was live birth rate. Secondary outcomes were clinical pregnancy, implantation, miscarriage and procedure-related complication rates. Of the 1115 publications identified, 4 met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was not possible due to significant clinical heterogeneity among the included studies. Patients' characteristics differed, as did the intervention used with endometrial injury being performed at different phases of the preceding menstrual cycle. Moreover, the effect of endometrial injury on live birth and clinical pregnancy rates were inconsistent among the included studies. In summary, there is currently insufficient evidence to support the use of endometrial injury in women with recurrent implantation failure undergoing assisted reproductive techniques while the procedure-associated complication rate has not been assessed. Clinical implementation should, thus, be deferred until robust evidence becomes available.

Spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: case report, pathophysiological classification and diagnostic algorithm.

Spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is an extremely rare condition that occurs in the absence of ovarian hyperstimulation treatment. It can lead to significant morbidity and mortality, and therefore early diagnosis and supportive treatment are essential. We report an affected mother and her daughter with a previously reported heterozygous activating mutation in the FSHR gene. We performed a literature review with particular regard to pathogenesis, with a view to suggesting a pathophysiological classification system and a diagnostic algorithm to assist in the management of this rare condition.