Problems with Early Systematic Reviews: The Case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Pregnancy.

INTRODUCTION: Rapid dissemination of findings regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its potential effects on pregnancy is crucial to support understanding and development of recommendations for optimization of obstetrics care. However, much of the current studies published are in the form of case reports or case series which can be prone to biases. Other factors also further complicate attempts to analyze data accurately. Hence, this evaluation hopes to highlight some of these problems and provide suggestions to help clinicians mitigate and make reasonable conclusions when reading the abundant yet limited body of evidence when furthering their research efforts. METHODS: Studies regarding COVID-19 and pregnancy were searched on databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, the Cochrane Library. Manual search of references of select articles were also undertaken. Apart from summarizing study limitations identified by authors, the characteristics of current literature and systematic reviews were also evaluated to identify potential factors affecting accuracy of subsequent analysis. RESULTS: Factors such as innate biasness in study design of current literature, duplicate reporting, differing inclusion criteria of systematic reviews, scarce data, inadequate follow-up period and limitations of systematic reviews have been shown to hinder the ability for accurate data extrapolation. DISCUSSION: Unless additional studies are conducted in identified areas of data scarcity and a common list of factors affecting accuracy of data analysis are taken into account when developing recommendations, discrepancies will continue to arise and accurate data analysis and valid systematic reviews will be precluded.

Retained products of conception in hysteroscopy in a patient with breast cancer on tamoxifen.

Tamoxifen is a selective oestrogen receptor modulator widely used in breast cancer treatment, with good survival rates. Its partial agonist action on other tissues such as the uterus, however, promotes the development of endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. It appears that tamoxifen does not alter the age of menopause and women may still get pregnant while on tamoxifen. We present the case of a 47-year-old Chinese woman with breast cancer on tamoxifen, who presented with one episode of heavy per vaginal bleeding after 2 years of amenorrhoea. Her urine pregnancy test was negative and the ultrasound scan was suspicious for malignancy. She underwent a hysteroscopic evaluation for abnormal bleeding on tamoxifen. Histopathology confirmed products of conception. This case illustrates the importance of understanding the rise and decline of human chorionic gonadotropin in pregnancy, as well as the pivotal role of contraception despite having amenorrhoea on tamoxifen.

Strumal carcinoid tumour of the ovary presenting with severe constipation.

A 30-year-old single woman presented with an incidental finding of abdominal mass associated with severe constipation. Her cancer antigen-25, alpha-foetoprotein and beta human chorionic gonadotropin levels were normal, but her carcinoembryonic antigen level was raised at 7.6 g/dL. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 11.4 cm × 8.6 cm × 9.5 cm right ovarian mass with solid and cystic areas. An open right cystectomy was performed. Intraoperatively, she was found to have hirsutism and clitoromegaly. During the operation, there was a right ovarian 10-cm mass, with faecal loading from the caecum to the transverse colon. The uterus, fallopian tubes, left ovary and intraperitoneal survey were normal. Final histology confirmed strumal carcinoid tumour Stage 1A. This case report shows that a strumal carcinoid tumour can present with longstanding constipation as a patient's main complaint and may also be associated with hirsutism.

Uterine fibroids--do size and location determine menstrual blood loss?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate any potential effect of fibroid size and distribution on menstrual blood loss (MBL). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective comparative study of 50 women with symptomatic fibroids who underwent uterine imaging and objective MBL measurement prior to uterine artery embolisation between 1999 and 2002. SETTING: West of Scotland Gynaecology and radiology departments. METHOD: Uterine imaging was by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in all but one case and MBL was performed using the alkaline haematin technique. Fibroid characteristics were assessed by an experienced radiologist unaware of the MBL measurements. RESULTS: Thirty-three (66%) women had objective menorrhagia with a MBL in excess of 80 ml per period. The commonest location of fibroids was intramural; these particular fibroids also had the largest diameter and the greatest uterine volume. There was a negative relationship between MBL and the diameter of the largest fibroid (r = -0.419, P < 0.01). All but two women (both of whom had subserosal fibroids alone) demonstrated distortion of the uterine cavity. All women with submucosal fibroids presented with menorrhagia. CONCLUSION: This study found that MBL correlated with neither fibroid size nor location. However, all the women with sub-mucosal fibroids had menorrhagia with a MBL greater than 80 ml.