Obstetric outcomes in women with pelvic endometriosis: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether obstetric outcomes differ between women with endometriosis and those without, where all women undergo first trimester screening for endometriosis DESIGN: A prospective observational cohort study SETTING: The Early Pregnancy Unit at University College London Hospital, United Kingdom SUBJECTS: Women with a live pregnancy progressing beyond 12 weeks' gestation and concurrent endometriosis (n=110) or no endometriosis (n=393). EXPOSURE: All women underwent a pelvic ultrasound examination in early pregnancy to examine for the presence of endometriosis and uterine abnormalities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome of interest was preterm birth, defined as delivery before 37 completed weeks' gestation. Secondary outcomes included late miscarriage, antepartum haemorrhage, placental site disorders, gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, neonate small for gestational age, mode of delivery, intrapartum sepsis, postpartum haemorrhage and admission to the neonatal unit. RESULTS: Women with a diagnosis of endometriosis did not have statistically significantly higher odds of preterm delivery (aOR 1.85 (95% CI 0.50-6.90)), but they did have higher odds of postpartum haemorrhage during Caesarean section (aOR 3.64 (95% CI 2.07-6.35);) and admission of their newborn baby to the neonatal unit (aOR 3.24 (95% CI 1.08-9.73);). Women with persistent or recurrent deep endometriosis after surgery, also had higher odds of placental site disorders (aOR 8.65 (95% CI 1.17-63.71);) and intrapartum sepsis (aOR 3.47 (95% CI 1.02-11.75);). CONCLUSION: We observed that women with endometriosis do not have higher odds of preterm delivery, irrespective of their disease subtype. However, they do have higher odds of postpartum haemorrhage during Caearean section and newborn admission to the neonatal unit.

3D modeling in cancer studies.

The tumor microenvironment contributes significantly to tumor initiation, progression, and resistance to chemotherapy. Much of our understanding of the tumor and its microenvironment is developed using various methods of cell culture. Throughout the last two decades, research has increasingly shown that 3D cell culture systems can remarkably recapitulate the complexity of tumor architecture and physiology compared to traditional 2D models. Unlike the flat culture system, these novel models enabled more cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. By mimicking in vivo microenvironment, 3D culture systems promise to become accurate tools ready to be used in diagnosis, drug screening, and personalized medicine. In this review, we discussed the importance of 3D culture in simulating the tumor microenvironment and focused on the effects of cancer cell-microenvironment interactions on cancer behavior, resistance, proliferation, and metastasis. Finally, we assessed the role of 3D cell culture systems in the contexts of drug screening. 2D culture system is used to study cancer cell growth, progression, behavior, and drug response. It provides contact between cells and supports paracrine crosstalk between host cells and cancer cells. However, this system fails to simulate the architecture and the physiological aspects of in vivo tumor microenvironment due to the absence of cell-cell/ cell-ECM interactions as well as unlimited access to O2 and nutrients, and the absence of tumor heterogeneity. Recently advanced research has led researchers to generate 3D culture system that can better recapitulate the in vivo environment by providing hypoxic medium, facilitating cell-cell and cell-ECM, interactions, and recapitulating heterogeneity of the tumor. Several approaches are used to maintain and expand cancer cells in 3D culture systems such as tumor spheroids (cell aggregate that mimics the in vivo growth of tumor cells), scaffold-based approaches, bioreactors, microfluidic derives, and organoids. 3D systems are currently used for disease modeling and pre-clinical drug testing.

Resource availability for the management of maternal sepsis in Malawi, other low-income countries, and lower-middle-income countries.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the availability of key resources for the management of maternal sepsis and evaluate the feasibility of implementing the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) recommendations in Malawi and other low-resource settings. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at health facilities in Malawi, other low-income countries, and lower-middle-income countries during January-March 2016. English-speaking healthcare professionals (e.g. doctors, nurses, midwives, and administrators) completed a questionnaire/online survey to assess the availability of resources for the management of maternal sepsis. RESULTS: Healthcare centers (n=23) and hospitals (n=13) in Malawi showed shortages in the resources for basic monitoring (always available in 5 [21.7%] and 10 [76.9%] facilities, respectively) and basic infrastructure (2 [8.7%] and 7 [53.8%], respectively). The availability of antibiotics varied between Malawian healthcare centers (9 [39.1%]), Malawian hospitals (8 [61.5%]), hospitals in other low-income countries (10/17 [58.8%]), and hospitals in lower-middle-income countries (39/41 [95.1%]). The percentage of SSC recommendations that could be implemented was 33.3% at hospitals in Malawi, 30.3% at hospitals in other low-income countries, and 68.2% at hospitals in lower-middle-income countries. CONCLUSION: The implementation of existing SSC recommendations is unrealistic in low-income countries because of resource limitations. New maternal sepsis care bundles must be developed that are applicable to low-resource settings.

Echocardiographic Structure and Function in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Echocardiography is commonly used to direct the management of hypertensive disorders in medical patients, but its application in pregnancy is unclear. Our objective was to define the use of echocardiography in pregnancies complicated by gestational hypertension (GH) and preeclampsia. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a systematic review of articles using an electronic search of databases from inception to March 2015, prospectively registered with PROSPERO (CRD42015015700). Eligible studies included pregnant women with GH or preeclampsia, evaluating left ventricular structure and function using echocardiography. The search strategy identified 36 studies, including 745 women with GH and 815 women with preeclampsia. The populations were heterogeneous with respect to clinical characteristics, parity, and risk of bias. Increased vascular resistance and left ventricular mass were the most consistent findings in GH and preeclampsia. Differentiating features from normal pregnancy were left ventricular wall thickness of ≥1.0 cm, exaggerated reduction in E/A, and lateral e' of <14 cm/s. There was disagreement between studies with regard to cardiac output because of the timing of echocardiography, although reduced stroke volume was an indicator of adverse prognosis. Diastolic dysfunction and left ventricular remodeling are most marked in severe and early-onset preeclampsia, but are also markers of preeclampsia before clinical manifestation, and are associated with adverse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiography is a valuable tool to stratify risk and can guide management and counseling in the preclinical and clinical phases of GH and preeclampsia. Changes in cardiac function and morphology are recognizable at an asymptomatic early stage and correlate with disease severity and adverse outcomes.