"Welcome to OBGYN World!" A novel recruitment event for medical students organized by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"Welcome to OBGYN World!" A novel recruitment event for medical students organized by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Since 2012, the number of doctors in Japan who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology has shown a decreasing trend. To increase the number of doctors majoring in obstetrics and gynecology, the Japanese Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynecology subcommittee developed a new recruitment event called Welcome to OBGYN World! (WOW!); the aim of this event was to focus on lower grades of medical students. The present report describes the content of WOW! and the results of a post-event questionnaire administered to participating students and tutors. WOW! was held online in order to avoid the risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 infection for participants. Sixty of the 82 medical schools nationwide (73.2%) participated in this event. Overall, there were 285 participating students, ranging from first to fourth grade in medical school, and 106 tutors were involved to teach material at the event. In the post-event questionnaire survey, 97.6% (248/254) and 100% of the participants stated they now had a high degree of interest in obstetrics and gynecology and found the specialty attractive, respectively. Furthermore, 93.6% (90/94) of the tutors stated that WOW! had helped recruitment activities in their universities. Based on this outcome, members of the Japanese Trainees of Obstetrics and Gynecology subcommittee will now try to increase the number of doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology by holding WOW! annually.

Comparative study of the usefulness of risk score assessment in the early stages of COVID-19 affected pregnancies: Omicron variant versus previous variants.

AIM: To evaluate the utility of the risk score in assessing the current status and prognosis of COVID-19 in pregnancy. METHODS: Seventy-seven cases affected before the Omicron variant epidemic and 50 pregnant cases affected by the Omicron variant were included. The risk score consists of maternal background, current condition, and examination findings. We determined the risk score in the early stages of disease onset. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the maternal or gestational ages between the groups. The risk score was significantly lower in the After-Group patients (those affected during the Omicron epoch), while 14.3% of the Before-Group patients (those affected during the pre-Delta and Delta epochs), experienced a worsening of disease after the visit to the center, whereas none of the After-Group patients did. The Before Group's frequency of risk score items was higher among the two groups for "fever for ≥48 h," "mild pneumonia image," and "blood tests," whereas "disease onset 14 days after the second vaccination" was increased in After Group. The blood test parameters for platelet count, C-reactive protein, and D-dimer levels were not significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The risk score system appeared superior in detecting deteriorating cases. There were no cases of post-illness deterioration in the After-Group, suggesting that cases of the Omicron variant in pregnancy may have had a less severe course compared to that of previous variants. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of a specific blood test evaluation, suggesting the need for a combined evaluation of cases affected during pregnancy.

Evaluation of the tolerability of monoclonal antibody therapy for pregnant patients with COVID-19.

AIM: To evaluate the tolerability of casirivimab and imdevimab (CAS/IMB) therapy in pregnant women with COVID-19 in Japan and its impact on the neonate and process of delivery. METHODS: Eight cases of pregnancy complicated by COVID-19 and requiring hospitalization during the delta variant epidemic were included. Gestational age, initial symptoms, pregnancy complications and outcome, severity of illness, blood test findings at the time of treatment initiation and on days 3-5 after administration, body temperature at administration, and 8, 24, and 48 h post-administration, delivery outcome, and neonatal findings were recorded. Ten pregnant women who required hospitalization at the same time and did not receive CAS/IMB were used as controls. RESULTS: Of the eight cases, seven were mild, and one case was of moderate severity. Body temperature in the CAS/IMB group was significantly higher at 8 h post-administration than that at the time of administration. However, body temperature significantly reduced at 24 and 48 h post-administration in the CAS/IMB group compared with that in the control group. There were no apparent adverse events after CAS/IMB administration. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal administration of CAS/IMB was safe. Although it was difficult to evaluate the improvement in disease by blood test findings, the fever improved within 24 h, which suggests rapid improvement in patient condition.