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The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 1978Past and continuing studies of the influence of a prior induced abortion on subsequent perinatal complications are reviewed. Many definitive conclusions are precluded... (Review)
Review
Past and continuing studies of the influence of a prior induced abortion on subsequent perinatal complications are reviewed. Many definitive conclusions are precluded because of design problems in the extant studies and these methodological issues, therefore, form the focus for the current review. The available studies do suggest that abortion by vacuum aspiration is not a risk factor for complications of subsequent pregnancies, labor, delivery, or of newborns. Abortion by dilatation and curettage, however, may increase the risk of subsequent spontaneous abortion, low birth weight, and prematurity but these findings need to be confirmed. The impact of other abortion techniques or perinatal complications has not been studied. The more common design problems in the extant literature include: (1) failure to control for confounding maternal factors; (2) problems in reliability of reporting previous abortion; and (3) nonspecific measurement of abortion techniques. Since approximately three-quarters of all abortions performed annually in the United States are on young never-married women who may eventually wish to bear children, further rigorous research to define the risks of induced abortion is urgently required.
Topics: Abortion, Induced; Adolescent; Adult; Congenital Abnormalities; Dilatation and Curettage; Female; Fetal Death; Humans; Infant Mortality; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Obstetric Labor Complications; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Pregnancy, Ectopic; Risk; Vacuum Extraction, Obstetrical
PubMed: 373267
DOI: No ID Found -
Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Dec 2023Although Pakistan's Essential Package of Health Services was recently updated to include therapeutic and post-abortion care, little is known about current health...
Although Pakistan's Essential Package of Health Services was recently updated to include therapeutic and post-abortion care, little is known about current health facility readiness for these services. This study assessed the availability of comprehensive abortion care, and readiness of health facilities to deliver these services, within the public sector in 12 districts of Pakistan. A facility inventory was completed in 2020-2021 using the WHO Service Availability and Readiness Assessment, with a newly developed abortion module. A composite readiness indicator was developed based on national clinical guidelines and previous studies. Just 8.4% of facilities reported offering therapeutic abortion, while 14.3% offered post-abortion care. Misoprostol (75.2%) was the most common method provided by facilities that offer therapeutic abortion, followed by vacuum aspiration (60.7%) and dilatation and curettage (D&C) (59%). Few facilities had all the readiness components required to deliver pharmacological or surgical therapeutic abortion, or post-abortion care (<1%), but readiness was higher in tertiary (22.2%) facilities. Readiness scores were lowest for "guidelines and personnel" (4.1%), and slightly higher for medicines and products (14.3-17.1%), equipment (16.3%) and laboratory services (7.4%). This assessment highlights the potential to increase the availability of comprehensive abortion care in Pakistan, particularly in primary care and in rural areas, to improve the readiness of health facilities to deliver these services, and to phase out non-recommended methods of abortion (D&C). The study also demonstrates the feasibility and utility of adding an abortion module to routine health facility assessments, which can inform efforts to strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Topics: Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Health Services Accessibility; Pakistan; Abortion, Induced; Health Facilities; World Health Organization
PubMed: 36897212
DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2023.2178265 -
International Journal of Hyperthermia :... 2023To investigate the menstruation recovery after two therapeutic regimens, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) or uterine artery embolization (UAE) combined with...
Comparison of menstruation recovery after ultrasound-guided suction curettage in patients with cesarean scar pregnancy pretreated using high-intensity focused ultrasound and uterine artery embolization.
OBJECTIVES
To investigate the menstruation recovery after two therapeutic regimens, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) or uterine artery embolization (UAE) combined with ultrasound-guided suction curettage, for premenopausal women with cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seventy patients with CSP treated with HIFU followed by ultrasound-guided suction curettage and 63 patients with CSP treated with UAE followed by ultrasound-guided suction curettage in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The treatment parameters and the menstrual blood loss (MBL) volume at 6 months after the two therapeutic regimens were compared between the two groups.
RESULTS
There was no significant difference in treatment results between the two groups. With regard to postoperative MBL volume, 5 out of 70 patients in the HIFU group and 22 out of 63 patients in UAE group exhibited a reduction in MBL, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that hypomenorrhea was more likely to occur in the UAE group than in the HIFU group (UAE group vs. HIFU group; OR 11.328, 95% CI 3.158-55.871; < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Compared to UAE, HIFU has less influence on postoperative MBL volume, which may be a fertility-sparing option for patients with CSP.
Topics: Pregnancy; Humans; Female; Cicatrix; Menstruation; Retrospective Studies; Uterine Artery Embolization; Vacuum Curettage; Ultrasonography, Interventional
PubMed: 37698065
DOI: 10.1080/02656736.2023.2241686 -
PloS One 2023In Kenya, where abortion is legally restricted, most abortions are induced using unsafe procedures, and lead to complications treated in public health facilities. The...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
In Kenya, where abortion is legally restricted, most abortions are induced using unsafe procedures, and lead to complications treated in public health facilities. The introduction of Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) to treat incomplete abortion has improved the management of abortion complications. However, this technology comes with pain whose management has been a challenge. This paper explores the lived experiences of pain (management) during MVA to document the contributing factors.
METHODS
We used an ethnographic approach to explore girls and healthcare providers' experiences in offering and accessing post-abortion care in Kilifi County, Kenya. The data collection approach included participant observation and informal conversations in public health facilities and neighboring communities, as well as in-depth interviews with 21 girls and young women treated for abortion complication and 12 healthcare providers.
RESULTS
Our findings show that almost all patients described the MVA as the most painful procedure they have ever experienced. The unbearable pain was explained by various factors, including the lack of preparedness of health facilities to offer PAC services (i.e. lack of pain medicine, lack of training, inadequate knowledge and grasp of pain medication guidelines, and malfunctioning MVA kits). Moreover, the attitudes of healthcare providers and facilities management toward the MVA device limited the supply and replacement of MVA kits. Moreover, the scarcity of pain medicines also gave some providers the opportunity to abuse patients guided by their values, whereby they would deny patients pain medication as a form of "punishment" if they were suspected of inducing their abortion, especially adolescent girls.
CONCLUSION
The study findings suggest the need for clearer guidelines on pain medication, value clarification and attitude transformation training for providers, systematizing the use of medical uterine evacuation using medical abortion drug and strengthening the supply chain of pain medication and MVA kits to reduce the pain and improve the quality of post-abortion care.
Topics: Pregnancy; Adolescent; Humans; Female; Kenya; Vacuum Curettage; Pain; Abortion, Induced; Abortion, Spontaneous
PubMed: 37619217
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289689 -
African Health Sciences Mar 2020Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) defines a spectrum of proliferative disorders of trophoblastic epithelium of the placenta. Incidence, risk factors, and outcome... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) defines a spectrum of proliferative disorders of trophoblastic epithelium of the placenta. Incidence, risk factors, and outcome may differ from one country to another.
OBJECTIVE
To describe incidence, patient characteristics, treatment modalities, and outcome of GTD at Mansoura University which is a referral center of Lower Egypt.
METHODS
An observational prospective study was conducted at the GTD Clinic of Mansoura University. The patients were recruited for 12 months from September 2015 to August 2016. The patients' characteristics, management, and outcome were reported.
RESULTS
We reported 71 clinically diagnosed GTD cases, 62 of them were histologically confirmed, 58 molar (33 CM and 25 PM) in addition to 4 initially presented GTN cases. Mean age of the studied cases was 26.22 years ± 9.30SD. Mean pre-evacuation hCG was 136170 m.i.u/ml ±175880 SD. Most of the cases diagnosed accidentally after abnormal sonographic findings (53.2%). Rate of progression of CM and PM to GTN was 24.2% and 8%, respectively.
CONCLUSION
The incidence of molar pregnancy and GTN in our locality was estimated to be 13.1 and 3.2 per 1000 live births respectively. We found no significance between CM and PM regarding hCG level, time to hCG normalization, and progression rate to GTN.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Chorionic Gonadotropin; Egypt; Female; Gestational Trophoblastic Disease; Humans; Hydatidiform Mole; Incidence; Placenta; Pregnancy; Prospective Studies; Treatment Outcome; Uterine Neoplasms; Vacuum Curettage; Young Adult
PubMed: 33402895
DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v20i1.12 -
European Journal of Obstetrics &... Dec 2023To compare intrauterine adhesion (IUA) formation after hysteroscopic removal (HR) of retained products of conception (RPOC) with IUA formation after ultrasound-guided...
OBJECTIVES
To compare intrauterine adhesion (IUA) formation after hysteroscopic removal (HR) of retained products of conception (RPOC) with IUA formation after ultrasound-guided electric vacuum aspiration (EVA) and externally validate the outcomes of an RCT.
STUDY DESIGN
This prospective cohort study was conducted from April 2015 until June 2022 in 2 Dutch teaching hospitals and one Belgian university hospital. Women opting for EVA underwent the procedure as soon as possible. In the HR group, the therapeutic hysteroscopy was performed at least eight weeks after the end of pregnancy. Postoperatively, an office second-look hysteroscopy was offered to all patients. Women were included if they had been diagnosed with RPOC ranging from 1 to 4 cm on ultrasound and did not want to participate in the RCT. EVA was performed using a Karman cannula. Operative hysteroscopy consisted either of hysteroscopic morcellation with the TruClear™ System or the Intrauterine BIGATTI Shaver or cold loop resection with a bipolar resectoscope.
RESULTS
Of 178 included women, 124 were treated with HR and 28 with EVA. Outcomes of HR and EVA did not differ significantly in terms of complications (5.6 % vs 3.6 %; p = 1.00). Second-look hysteroscopy showed IUAs in 14 of 91 women (15.4 %) after HR and in 1 of 16 (6.3 %) after EVA (p = .461). Completeness of removal was significantly higher (90.1 %) after HR than after EVA (68.8 %) (p = .035). Additional operative hysteroscopy was required in 14.3 % of the HR group versus 37.5 % in the EVA group (p = .036).
CONCLUSION
In our cohort study, no significant differences in IUAs or complications were found. RPOC removal with HR was more often complete than removal with EVA, and additional therapeutic hysteroscopy was less frequently required after HR. These findings need to be correlated with those of RCTs.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
The study was registered in de Dutch Trial Register (NTR4923). Date of registration 23-11-2014. Date of first enrollment 01-01-2015. https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=NTR4923.
PubMed: 37701632
DOI: 10.1016/j.eurox.2023.100230 -
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth Jul 2018To evaluate the effects of systemic methotrexate in cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) patients treated with ultrasound-guided suction curettage.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the effects of systemic methotrexate in cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) patients treated with ultrasound-guided suction curettage.
METHODS
A retrospective review of all women presenting with CSP treated with ultrasound-guided suction curettage at Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China, between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2015, was conducted. Patients were grouped into those not treated with methotrexate before curettage (group 1), treated with methotrexate by intramuscular injection (group 2) and treated with methotrexate by intravenous injection (group 3). The clinical characteristics and outcomes were analyzed.
RESULTS
Among 107 patients, 47 patients were not treated with methotrexate before curettage, 46 patients had methotrexate administered by intramuscular injection and 14 patients had methotrexate injected intravenously. There were no significant differences among the groups in basic and clinical characteristics, such as age, gravity, parity, positive fetal heart beat and gestational age at diagnosis. Patients presented similar initial human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels in all groups. After treatment with methotrexate or curettage, the percentage changes and varied ranges of the hCG levels were also similar in all groups. There were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss and retained products of conception among the three groups. However group 1 had significantly shorter hospital stays than the two groups that were treated with methotrexate (p<0.001).
CONCLUSION
By grouping CSP patients who shared similar age, gravity, parity, fetal heart beat positive and gestational age at diagnosis, we found that the presence or absence of methotrexate treatment before curettage resulted in comparable outcomes and hCG levels, although patients who were not treated with methotrexate had significantly shorter stays in the hospital.
Topics: Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal; Adult; Cesarean Section; China; Cicatrix; Female; Humans; Injections, Intramuscular; Length of Stay; Methotrexate; Postoperative Complications; Pregnancy; Retrospective Studies; Surgery, Computer-Assisted; Ultrasonography; Vacuum Curettage
PubMed: 29973177
DOI: 10.1186/s12884-018-1923-x -
Fertility and Sterility Jul 2021To compare the intrauterine gene expression signatures of women with surgically confirmed ectopic pregnancy (ECT) and those of women with miscarriage to inform the... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
OBJECTIVE
To compare the intrauterine gene expression signatures of women with surgically confirmed ectopic pregnancy (ECT) and those of women with miscarriage to inform the development of a genomic classifier for the reliable delineation of pregnancy location in women with clinically nonviable pregnancies of unknown location (NV-PULs).
DESIGN
Discovery-based prospective cohort study.
SETTING
Academic medical center.
PATIENT(S)
Women with clinically nonviable early pregnancy to include abnormal intrauterine pregnancy (AIUP), ECT, or NV-PUL.
INTERVENTION(S)
Endometrial (EM) pipelle sampling of the uterus was conducted at the time of scheduled surgery for clinically nonviable early pregnancy (dilation and curettage, manual vacuum aspiration, or laparoscopy). All pregnancy locations were surgically and/or histologically confirmed as intrauterine or ectopic.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
Gene expression profiles as determined by array hybridization, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and nCounter technology.
RESULT(S)
Intrauterine samples were obtained by EM pipelle from 27 women undergoing surgery for a clinically nonviable early pregnancy. Comparison of array-based global gene expression signatures from women with histologically confirmed ECT versus AIUP revealed 61 differentially expressed genes from which the 5 most informative were included in the pregnancy location classifier. All 5 genes (C20orf85, LRRC46, RSPH4A, WDR49, and ZBBX) were cilia-associated and showed increased expression in pipelle samples from women with ECT relative to expression in samples from women with AIUP. The 5-gene classifier demonstrated an average area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of 0.97 for the detection of ECT. In an external test set composed of publicly available EM pipelle-based gene expression data from a study with similar ECT and AIUP cohorts (n = 19), the classifier revealed an average area under the receiver operator characteristic curve of 0.84.
CONCLUSION(S)
Consistently increased expression of cilia-associated genes in the uterine cavity of women with ECT provides a reliable molecular signal for the delineation of pregnancy location in women with clinically assessed NV-PUL. A classifier consisting of the 5 most informative cilia-associated genes demonstrated 91% (42/46) accuracy in predicting the pregnancy location.
Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Adolescent; Adult; Computational Biology; Cytoskeletal Proteins; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Middle Aged; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Predictive Value of Tests; Pregnancy; Pregnancy, Ectopic; Prospective Studies; Proteins; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Transcriptome; Uterus; Young Adult
PubMed: 33771330
DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2021.02.005 -
Patient Safety in Surgery May 2022In Japan, dilatation & curettage (D&C) has been performed under general anesthesia as a surgery for an early pregnancy miscarriage for a long time. In 2016, manual...
Safety and efficacy of manual vacuum aspiration under local anesthesia compared to general anesthesia in the surgical management of miscarriage: a retrospective cohort study.
BACKGROUND
In Japan, dilatation & curettage (D&C) has been performed under general anesthesia as a surgery for an early pregnancy miscarriage for a long time. In 2016, manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) under general anesthesia was introduced at our hospital and has been used as a surgical treatment for first-trimester pregnancy miscarriage, with its utility to date being reported here. In July 2018, our hospital introduced the MVA procedure under local anesthesia. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of MVA under general and local anesthesia in first-trimester pregnancy miscarriage surgery in Japanese women.
METHODS
In this retrospective observational cohort study, we enrolled 322 pregnant women at less than 12 weeks of gestation, who underwent MVA surgery under local anesthesia (n = 166) or conventional general anesthesia (n = 156). The duration of surgery, blood loss volume, quantity of anesthesia, presence or absence of retained products of conception, and clinical complications were evaluated. In addition, the intraoperative pain and treatment satisfaction were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS).
RESULTS
The duration of surgery was significantly shorter in the local anesthesia group. No significant differences were observed between both groups in terms of the blood loss volume and incidence of retained products of conception. In addition, no serious complications were observed in either group. No significant differences were noted between the two groups in the VAS scores for pain and treatment satisfaction.
CONCLUSIONS
In this retrospective study, the use of MVA under local anesthesia for early pregnancy miscarriage surgery was found to be equally safe and effective when performed under conventional general anesthesia. This technique allowed the achievement of appropriate pain control with excellent patient satisfaction.
PubMed: 35614492
DOI: 10.1186/s13037-022-00328-7 -
African Health Sciences Mar 2022The risk of uterine perforation during manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is reduced by using Karman cannula (which has a rounded tip) during the procedure.
BACKGROUND
The risk of uterine perforation during manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is reduced by using Karman cannula (which has a rounded tip) during the procedure.
METHODS
A 35-year-old multigravida at 13 gestational weeks presented with vaginal bleeding of a day duration and ultrasound evidence of retained products of conception suggestive of incomplete miscarriage. The patient was rhesus D positive and stable. She had MVA which was performed using Karman cannula, and developed severe vaginal bleeding. The differential diagnoses were incomplete uterine evacuation and uterine perforation.
RESULTS
During a laparotomy in Lloyd-Davies position, haemoperitoneum and six uterine perforations on the anterior and fundal parts, each approximately 5 mm in length (Figure 1), were found. The perforations were repaired and a check uterine curettage under oxytocic cover showed an empty uterus. The abdominal cavity was washed and closed. She was transfused three units of red blood cell concentrate and had a normal six weeks follow-up.
CONCLUSION
When an instrument inserted into the uterus is pushed beyond the estimated depth of the uterus, a perforation must be suspected and the condition may be managed conservatively. A surgical procedure complicated by surgeon's loss of perception (in this case tactile) of tissues' anatomy is hazardous.
Topics: Abortion, Incomplete; Delivery of Health Care; Female; Humans; Uterine Hemorrhage; Uterine Perforation; Vacuum Curettage
PubMed: 36032497
DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v22i1.23