Ultrasound detection rates of the placenta accreta spectrum with prior myomectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the performance of ultrasound in detecting placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) in patients with history of prior myomectomy. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients who were referred for sonographic evaluation of the placenta and delivered at a tertiary academic center from 2012 to 2019. Demographic, obstetric, sonographic findings, and pathology information were collected and analyzed using Chi-square, t-tests, and ANOVA analysis. RESULTS: 640 patients met inclusion criteria, including 46 (7.2%) with histologically confirmed PAS. Groups for comparison included those with C-section only (CS), CS-Myomectomy, and Myomectomy-only. Those with CS-Myomectomy were older (38.7 years vs. 35.7 years or 35.5 years, p = .003) and those with CS only were more likely to have an anterior placenta (63.4% vs. 54.5% or 41.8%, p = .005). The rate of PAS was highest in those with Myomectomy only (14.5% vs. 6.1% or 11.4%, p = 0.04). Sensitivity, Specificity, and Predictive Values were lowest in the CS-Myomectomy group, with detection rate and PPV of only 40%. Accuracy, defined as the rate of clinical outcome consistent with imaging, was significantly higher in those with CS only compared to the CS with myomectomy or myomectomy-only groups. Of the histologically confirmed PAS, 11 (23.9%) did not have a placenta previa, and the majority of these occurred in women with prior myomectomy. In the cohort with CS only, the proportion of cases with PAS without placenta previa was 5 of 33 (15.2%) compared to 6 of 13 (46.2%) of PAS in those with prior myomectomy, with or without CS (p = .05). CONCLUSION: In patients with prior uterine surgery referred for sonographic evaluation of the placenta, rates of histology-confirmed PAS were highest in those with prior myomectomy, though ultrasound accuracy was lower in these patients. As ultrasound findings of PAS may be clearer in the presence of placenta previa, the absence of previa in a higher proportion of PAS with prior myomectomy may be related to the observed lower sonographic accuracy in these patients.

Feasibility of a wearable biosensor device to characterize exercise and sleep in neurology residents.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests optimizing sleep, exercise and work-life balance may improve resident physician burnout. Wearable biosensors may allow residents to detect and correct poor sleep and exercise habits before burnout develops. Our objectives were to evaluate the feasibility of a wearable biosensor to characterize exercise/sleep in neurology residents and examine its relationship to self-reported, validated survey measures. We also assessed the device's impact on well-being and barriers to use. METHODS: This prospective cohort study evaluated the WHOOP Strap 2.0 in neurology residents. Participants completed regular online surveys, including self-reported hours of sleep/exercise, and validated sleep/exercise scales at 3-month intervals. Autonomic, exercise, and sleep measures were obtained from WHOOP. Changes were evaluated over time via linear regression. Survey and WHOOP metrics were compared using Pearson correlations. RESULTS: Sixteen (72.7%) of 22 eligible participants enrolled. Eleven (68.8%) met the minimum usage requirement (6+ months) and were classified as 'consecutive wearers.' Significant increases were found in sleep duration and exercise intensity. Moderate-to-low correlations were found between survey responses and WHOOP measures. Most (73%) participants reported a positive impact on well-being. Barriers to use included 'Forgetting to wear' (20%) and 'not motivational' (23.3%). CONCLUSION: Wearable biosensors may be a feasible tool to evaluate sleep/exercise in residents.

Breastfeeding and the risk of childhood asthma: A two-stage instrumental variable analysis to address endogeneity.

BACKGROUND: Several explanations for the inconsistent results on the effects of breastfeeding on childhood asthma have been suggested. The purpose of this study was to investigate one unexplored explanation, which is the presence of a potential endogenous relationship between breastfeeding and childhood asthma. Endogeneity exists when an explanatory variable is correlated with the error term for reasons such as selection bias, reverse causality, and unmeasured confounders. Unadjusted endogeneity will bias the effect of breastfeeding on childhood asthma. METHODS: To investigate potential endogeneity, a cross-sectional study of breastfeeding practices and incidence of childhood asthma in 87 pediatric patients in Georgia, the USA, was conducted using generalized linear modeling and a two-stage instrumental variable analysis. First, the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood asthma was analyzed without considering endogeneity. Second, tests for presence of endogeneity were performed and having detected endogeneity between breastfeeding and childhood asthma, a two-stage instrumental variable analysis was performed. The first stage of this analysis estimated the duration of breastfeeding and the second-stage estimated the risk of childhood asthma. RESULTS: When endogeneity was not taken into account, duration of breastfeeding was found to significantly increase the risk of childhood asthma (relative risk ratio [RR]=2.020, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.143-3.570]). After adjusting for endogeneity, duration of breastfeeding significantly reduced the risk of childhood asthma (RR=0.003, 95% CI: [0.000-0.240]). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that researchers should consider evaluating how the presence of endogeneity could affect the relationship between duration of breastfeeding and the risk of childhood asthma.

Mitochondrion: A Promising Target for Nanoparticle-Based Vaccine Delivery Systems.

Vaccination is one of the most popular technologies in disease prevention and eradication. It is promising to improve immunization efficiency by using vectors and/or adjuvant delivery systems. Nanoparticle (NP)-based delivery systems have attracted increasing interest due to enhancement of antigen uptake via prevention of vaccine degradation in the biological environment and the intrinsic immune-stimulatory properties of the materials. Mitochondria play paramount roles in cell life and death and are promising targets for vaccine delivery systems to effectively induce immune responses. In this review, we focus on NPs-based delivery systems with surfaces that can be manipulated by using mitochondria targeting moieties for intervention in health and disease.