Awareness and perceptions of Filipino obstetrician-gynecologists on fertility preservation: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The demand for fertility preservation has increased substantially over the past decade as more women wish to delay childbearing and with improved survival outcomes of various medical conditions. This study evaluated the awareness and perceptions of Filipino obstetrician-gynecologists on fertility preservation. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among diplomates and fellows of the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society from September to December 2021. A self-administered questionnaire with 24 items was distributed online. Univariate descriptive statistics were reported as means for continuous variables and frequencies with percentage for categorical variables. Differences in responses were tested using the chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 215 respondents completed the survey. Majority of the respondents were female, general obstetrician-gynecologists practicing in the National Capital Region. There was an overall positive perception of fertility preservation, with 98.60% agreeing that discussions about childbearing intentions should be initiated. Most participants (98.60%) were aware of fertility preservation but had varying levels of awareness of the different techniques. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents were unaware of regulations on fertility preservation. Setting up dedicated centers for fertility preservation and offering it as a public service were viewed as necessary by the respondents. CONCLUSIONS: This study underscored the need to increase awareness of fertility preservation techniques among Filipino obstetrician-gynecologists. Meeting the need for comprehensive guidelines and centers is essential to promote fertility preservation in the country. Efficient referral systems and multidisciplinary approaches should be established for holistic care.

Antenatal care utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online cross-sectional survey among Filipino women.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems worldwide, including interruption of antenatal care services. The study aimed to determine the utilization of antenatal care services of Filipino women during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among postpartum women using an online self-administered survey in the Philippines from January 1 to March 31, 2022. The questionnaire used to assess health-seeking behavior was validated before the survey proper. Women aged 18 to 45 years who delivered in 2021 were recruited. The participants answered a structured questionnaire to assess their access, perceptions, and utilization of antenatal care. Utilization of antenatal care was evaluated using standard measures, including the timing of initiation of antenatal care, number of subsequent visits, and place of consults. The factors affecting the adequacy of antenatal care were determined for each variable through simple logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 318 women were enrolled in the study. All the respondents agreed on the necessity of antenatal care. However, only 46.37% had six or more in-person antenatal visits, with the majority attended to by midwives at community health centers. Most respondents (71.38%) initiated antenatal care during the first trimester. Almost half reported deferrals of visits mainly due to lockdown restrictions, transportation problems, and financial issues. Positive predictors of adequate antenatal care were prior pregnancies (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.11-9.20 for 2-3 prior pregnancies; OR 3.02, 95% CI 1.45-6.29 for 4 or more prior pregnancies), live births (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.04-2.69 for 2-3 prior live births; OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.17-5.16 for 4 or more prior live births), having living children (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.09-2.79), spousal support (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.01-3.03 for married women; OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.09-3.28 for women with common-law partners), history of obstetric complications (OR 2.82, 95% CI 1.33-5.97), and use of private vehicles (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.05-6.68). Negative predictors were employment (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.22-0.63) and medical examination prior to pregnancy (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.23-0.58). CONCLUSION: Despite an overall positive perception of the necessity of antenatal care, utilization has been inadequate in more than half of the respondents. Various individual, facility, and policy-level factors affected the utilization of services during the pandemic. There is a need to augment antenatal care services in the country by mitigating barriers to access. The public health response should strengthen collaborative efforts with primary-level healthcare to increase service provision, especially to more vulnerable populations.

Impact of Long-Term Dienogest Therapy on Quality of Life in Asian Women with Endometriosis: the Prospective Non-Interventional Study ENVISIOeN.

Several clinical trials in women with endometriosis demonstrated that dienogest reduces endometrial lesions and improves health-related quality of life (HRQoL). To assess HRQoL in dienogest-treated patients in real-world setting, we conducted a prospective, non-interventional study in 6 Asian countries. Women aged ≥18 years with clinical or surgical diagnosis of endometriosis, presence of endometriosis-associated pelvic pain (EAPP) and initiating dienogest therapy were enrolled. The primary objective was to evaluate HRQoL using the Endometriosis Health Profile-30 (EHP-30) questionnaire. The secondary objectives included analysis of EAPP, satisfaction with dienogest, endometriosis symptoms and bleeding patterns. 887 patients started dienogest therapy. Scores for all EHP-30 scales improved with the largest mean changes at month 6 and 24 in scale pain (-28.9 ± 27.5 and - 34 ± 28.4) and control and powerlessness (-23.7 ± 28.2 and - 28.5 ± 26.2). Mean EAPP score change was -4.6 ± 3.0 for both month 6 and 24 assessments. EAPP decrease was similar in surgically and only clinically diagnosed patients. From baseline to month 24, rates of normal bleeding decreased (from 85.8% to 17.5%) while rates of amenorrhea increased (from 3.5% to 70.8%). Majority of patients and physicians were satisfied with dienogest. Over 80% of patients reported symptoms improvement. 39.9% of patients had drug-related treatment-emergent adverse events, including vaginal hemorrhage (10.4%), metrorrhagia (7.3%) and amenorrhea (6.4%). In conclusion, dienogest improves HRQoL and EAPP in the real-world setting in women with either clinical or surgical diagnosis of endometriosis. Dienogest might be a promising first-line treatment option for the long-term management of debilitating endometriosis-associated symptoms.NCT02425462, 24 April 2015.

Thoracoabdominal impalement injury during pregnancy.

Trauma has emerged as the leading cause of death during pregnancy. Penetrating abdominal trauma in pregnancy requires a rigorous clinical evaluation to establish a complete assessment of obstetric and non-obstetric lesions. In the case of major trauma, treatment is essentially carried out in a trauma centre with a multidisciplinary team to improve maternal and fetal prognosis. This is a case of a 20-year-old primigravid woman, 33 weeks and 4 days age of gestation, who was admitted for impaled foreign body. She was brought to the emergency department for a penetrating wound of the chest and abdomen after being accidentally impaled by a metre-long, inch-thick steel rod. Emergency laparotomy, caesarean section and thoracotomy were performed. The aim of this report is to discuss the assessment, management and role of the multidisciplinary team in the management of a pregnant trauma patient.

Effectiveness of dienogest in improving quality of life in Asian women with endometriosis (ENVISIOeN): interim results from a prospective cohort study under real-life clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Dienogest has been shown to substantially improve endometriosis-associated symptoms such as debilitating chronic pelvic pain, and in turn, health-related quality of life (HRQoL). To date, there is no data on patient-reported outcomes reflecting the real-world practice in Asia where endometriosis is a relevant health, social and economic burden. This non-interventional, multi-center, prospective study aims to investigate the influence of dienogest on HRQoL. METHODS: Asian women received dienogest (2 mg/daily) and were followed for 24 months. The effectiveness of dienogest to improve HRQoL and endometriosis-associated pelvic pain (EAPP) was assessed by patient-reported outcomes. HRQoL, especially the "pain" domain as primary endpoint, was evaluated with the Endometriosis Health Profile-30 (EHP-30) questionnaire. The numeric rating scale served to determine changes in the severity of EAPP. Within the presented interim analysis (data cut-off: 2017-11-27), the mean changes in EHP-30 and EAPP scores from baseline to 6 months upon availability of the data were evaluated. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and bleeding profiles were documented. RESULTS: Dienogest therapy decreased EHP-30 scores in all assessed domains (score 0-100, lower scores indicate better HRQoL). Primarily, the "pain" domain was improved in 78.4% of patients. EAPP was reduced (score 0-10, lower scores reflect less pain), highlighted by a mean reduction of the pain score by - 4.5 points. Patients with a higher EAPP score at baseline had an increased response to dienogest (- 6.2 points mean change) compared to patients with low baseline EAPP severity (- 1.4 points mean change). Both surgically and clinically diagnosed patients described comparable pain reduction, as well as women with or without prior treatment. Drug-related TEAEs were documented for 31.5% of patients, with amenorrhoea (5.9%) and metrorrhagia (5.1%) being the most common events. The bleeding pattern was changed upon dienogest, characterized by decreased normal bleeding (84.2 to 28.8%) and increased amenorrhea (3.2 to 42.9%) at 6 months. CONCLUSION: The data indicate an amelioration of HRQoL and EAPP upon dienogest therapy. No new safety signals were observed. Therefore, its use as first-line therapy for long-term management of debilitating and chronic endometriosis-associated pain represents an interesting option that remains to be further investigated. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Name of registry: Clinical Trials Clinicaltrials.gov registration number: NCT02425462 Registration date: 2015-04-24. Registration timing: prospective.

Hormone withdrawal-associated symptoms with ethinylestradiol 20 µg/drospirenone 3 mg (24/4 regimen) versus ethinylestradiol 20 µg/desogestrel 150 µg (21/7 regimen).

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the combined oral contraceptive (COC) ethinylestradiol (EE) 20 µg/drospirenone 3 mg taken in a 24/4-day regimen (ie, 4-day hormone-free interval) is more effective than an EE 20 µg/desogestrel (DSG) 150 µg COC taken in a 21/7-day regimen (ie, 7-day hormone-free interval) in reducing hormone withdrawal-associated symptoms (HWAS). METHODS: This double-blind, randomized study (NLM identifier: NCT01076582) was conducted at 34 centers in 12 countries. Otherwise healthy women who experienced ≥2 HWAS of headache, pelvic pain, and/or bloating when using their current COCs in a 21/7-day regimen were recruited. Subjects rated the severity of their HWAS daily on a seven-point Likert scale during a baseline cycle and during four 28-day cycles with EE/drospirenone 24/4 (n=290) or EE/DSG 21/7 (n=304). The primary variable was the mean change from baseline to cycle 4 in the composite HWAS score (sum of scores for all three symptoms) during cycle days 22-28. RESULTS: In the EE/drospirenone 24/4 group, the mean (standard deviation) composite HWAS score during cycle days 22-28 was reduced from 42.2 (24.8) at baseline to 12.8 (13.4) at cycle 4 (change from baseline: -30.3 [22.9]). In the EE/DSG 21/7 group, the corresponding value was reduced from 41.9 (25.8) to 14.3 (13.2) (change from baseline: -27.7 [24.8]), not significantly different versus EE/drospirenone 24/4. Bleeding pattern, treatment response, rescue medication use, compliance, quality of life, and tolerability were similar between treatments. CONCLUSION: Both EE/drospirenone 24/4 and EE/DSG 21/7 reduced the composite HWAS score from baseline to cycle 4 in otherwise healthy women. The differences between treatments were too small to be statistically significant.

Risk factors for ectopic pregnancy following in-vitro fertilization in a tertiary hospital in the Philippines

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of ectopic pregnancy after IVF at the Center for Advanced Reproductive Medicine and Infertility (CARMI) in St. Luke's Medical Center-Global City (SLMC-GC) and to describe the clinical characteristics of these patients and identity possible risk factors for ectopic pregnancy following IVF. STUDY DESIGN: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, with the digital database of CARMI as the source of patient information. Demographic and clinical data were obtained and tabulated. Statistical analyses were performed to identify possible risk factors for the tabulated. Statistical analyses were performed to identify possible risk factors for the development of ectopic pregnancy in IVF cases. RESULTS: There were a total of 243 clinical pregnancies among the 929 IVF-ET cases from September 2011 to April 2015. There were five cases of ectopic pregnancy. Frozen embryo transfer was the only variable found to be significantly associated with ectopic pregnancy (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: The ectopic pregnancy rate among IVF cycles in CARMI is 2.1%. Only frozen embryo cycle was found to be significantly associated with the development of EP. The other clinical variables that were studied showed no statistical significance.

Low-dose gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (Leuprorelin acetate) in the postoperative treatment of endometriosis-associated pain

Background: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnHRa) is used postoperatively for pain eradication and recurrence prevention in patients with endometriosis. However, the hypoestrogenic state induced by these agents limits its acceptability and safety. Objective: To know the effect of 1.88 mg monthly injection of GnHRa therapy for post-operative treatment of endometriosis-associated pain. Methodology: Prospective longitudinal study conducted between May 2010-February 2011. Six patients with endometriosis-associated pain were given 1.88 mg GnHRa SC every 4 weeks for 12 weeks. Endometriosis-associated pain was graded using the Biberoglu and Behrman scale. Serum estradiol is measured and adverse symptoms were recorded. Results: Mean pelvic pain scores during treatment were significantly lower than before treatment at all time points. Serum estradiol levels after the 2nd dose were within the therapeutic window (20-50 pg/ml) and remained so during the treatment period. Conclusion: Half-dose GnHRa maintained therapeutic effectiveness is postoperative patients with enmetriosis-associated pain. Favorable levels of plasma estradiol were maintained wihtin therapeutic window. No adverse events were recorded.

Recurrence of ovarian endometrioma after surgery

Objective: To determine which of the following factors at initial surgery-such as diameter of largest endometriotic cyst, number of cysts, diseases severity, type of surgery (laparoscopy versus laparotomy), or postoperative medical therapy-best correlated with the time of recurrence of ovarian endometrioma. Design: A retrospective descriptive study was performed on 25 patients who underwent initial surgical excision of endometriotic cyst and had cyst recurrence demonstrated either on ultrasound or repeat surgery. The clinical presentation of cyst recurrence was described. The operative findings of the first and second surgeries were compared. Factors which may affect the time of cyst recurrence were evaluated. Results: Cyst recurrence was demonstrated by ultrasound in 24 (96 percent) cases; repeat surgery for recurrence was done in only 10 (40 percent) cases. The different factors in the initial surgery: type of operation, size, number, and laterality of the endometriotic cyst, disease severity, adhesions and postoperative medical therapy, did not influence the time of recurrence of ovarian endometrioma. Disease severity was a significant factor on repeat surgery. Conclusion: The different factors aforementioned, which were present in the first surgery, did not influence the time of recurrence of ovarian endometrioma.