RÉSUMÉ
Numerous systematic probes, clinical studies and research papers have been published to depict, interpret, explain and understand the impacts and underlying mechanism of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its long-term effects on the female body. COVID-19 affects a number of organs, including the female reproductive function and hormonal profile. However, less attention has been given to the effects of COVID-19 on the female reproductive system due to their low morbidity. The available results of studies involving correlation that COVID-19 infection and ovarian function holds in women of reproductive age has been shown as harmless in most cases. Although, several studies have reported the involvement of COVID-19 infection in oocyte quality, ovarian function, and dysfunctions in the uterine endometrium and the menstrual cycle. The findings of these studies indicate that COVID-19 infection negatively affects the follicular microenvironment and dysregulate ovarian function. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and female reproductive health have been studied in humans and other animals, very few studies have examined how COVID-19 affects the female reproductive system. Our objective in this review is to enumerate, illustrate and categorize the effects of COVID-19 on the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, and hormonal profiles. We tried to bring forth the possible impact COVID-19 may have caused from the current literature and surveys published in various scientific reports and peer reviewed journal articles. The effects on oocyte maturation, oxidative stress, which causes chromosomal instability and apoptosis in ovaries, in vitro fertilization cycle, high-quality embryos, premature ovarian insufficiency, ovarian vein thrombosis, hypercoagulable state, women’s menstrual cycle, the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis, and sex hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and the anti- Müllerian hormone, are circled around here. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the health of women. The scientific community encourages the development of recommendations for specialized care for women and strategies to prevent and respond to violence during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
RÉSUMÉ
Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women in India. So, detection of its premalignant lesions is of utmost importance, which can be easily done by screening methods. Screening programmes for cervical cancer using the conventional pap smear (CPS) technique have been in place since decades. However, CPS technique has many limitations. To overcome these limitations liquid-based cytology (LBC) was introduced in the mid 1990 as a better tool for processing cervical samples. The aim of present study is to compare CPS with LBC and to assess the diagnostic accuracy and cost effectiveness of LBC in rural tertiary care centre.Methods: The study was conducted over a period of 2 years at Rama medical college, Mandhana, Kanpur. All women presenting to gynaecological OPD with symptoms and signs suspicious of cervical malignancy were selected for paired samples of conventional pap and LBC. Colposcopy and biopsy were sought which correlated with cytologic findings.燫esults: A maximum number of cases were in the reproductive age group, most common age of presentation being 40-49 years (27.3%) followed by 30-39 years (25.3%). A majority of patients were presented with a complaint of discharge per vagina 176 (58.7%), followed by pelvic pain 154 (51.3%). Only 4 patients were found to have unsatisfactory smear in LBC (1.33%) while 22 patients had unsatisfactory smear in conventional PAP (7.33%). LBC showed presence of endocervical cells in almost all patients 290 (97.97%). Candida bodies were not evident in LBC smears while the CPS showed presence candida bodies in 4 cases.Conclusions: Both the screening methods are very effective and sensitive in the detection of premalignant lesions with slight discordance of grade on histology. Thus, we conclude that cervical cytology is very effective in the detection of premalignant lesions with the sensitivity of almost 100%. In developing countries such as India, where finances pose a major problem, conventional method is as good as LBC.