Planning for the forgotten fourth trimester of pregnancy: A parallel group randomized control trial to test a postpartum planning intervention vs. standard prenatal care.

BACKGROUND: Black and brown birthing people experience persistent disparities in adverse maternal health outcomes, partially due to inadequate perinatal care. The goal of this study is to design and evaluate a patient-centered intervention for obstetric patients with one or more cardiometabolic risk factors for severe maternal morbidity [gestational diabetes, diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (chronic hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia, or gestational hypertension), or preconception obesity (BMI > 30)] to promote postpartum visit attendance. METHODS: To address identified unmet needs for postpartum support and barriers to postpartum care, we developed 20 thematic postpartum planning modules, each with corresponding patient educational materials, community resources, care coordination protocols, and clinician support tools (decision aids, electronic medical record prompts and fields). During prenatal care encounters, a research coordinator delivers the educational content (in English or Spanish), facilitates the participant's planning and shared decision-making, provides the participant with resources, and documents decisions in the electronic medical record. We will randomize 320 eligible patients with a 1:1 ratio to the intervention or standard prenatal care and evaluate the impact on postpartum visit attendance at 4-12 weeks and secondary outcomes (postpartum mental health, perceived future maternal and cardiometabolic risk, contraceptive use, primary care use, readmission, and patient satisfaction with care). DISCUSSION: Through engagement with patients and community stakeholders, we developed a guideline-based, locally tailored intervention to address drivers of engagement with postpartum care for high-risk obstetric patients. If demonstrated to be effective, the educational materials and electronic medical record based-tool can be adapted to other settings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05430815) on June 23, 2022.

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment and Management of the High-Risk Patient.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed nonskin cancer in women. To decrease the breast cancer burden, conserve resources, and decrease unnecessary treatments, guidelines suggest interventions be reserved for those women at greatest risk for disease. Risk assessment incorporating breast cancer risk factors and risk assessment models is of paramount importance in identifying women who have the greatest benefit from risk reduction strategies. Principles of shared decision-making should guide practitioners to incorporate patients' values, goals, and objectives in decisions around genetic testing, pharmacologic intervention, enhanced surveillance, and other risk reduction strategies.

Chronic Stress and Preconception Health Among Latina Women in Metro Atlanta.

BACKGROUND: Underserved subgroups are less likely to have optimal health prior to pregnancy. We describe preconception health indicators (behavior, pregnancy intention, and obesity) among pregnant Latina women with and without chronic stress in metro Atlanta. DESIGN: We surveyed 110 pregnant Latina women enrolled in prenatal care at three clinics in Atlanta. The survey assessed chronic stress, pregnancy intention, preconception behavior changes (taking folic acid or prenatal vitamins, seeking healthcare advice, any reduction in smoking or drinking), and previous trauma. RESULTS: Specific behaviors to improve health prior to pregnancy were uncommon (e.g., taking vitamins (25.5%) or improving nutrition (20.9%)). Just under half of women were experiencing a chronic stressor at the time of conception (49.5%). Chronically stressed women were more likely to be obese (aOR: 3.0 (1.2, 7.4)), less likely to intend their pregnancy (aOR: 0.3 (0.1, 0.7)), and possibly less likely to report any PHB (45.5% vs. 57.4%; aOR: 0.5 (0.2-1.1)). CONCLUSIONS: Chronically stress women were less likely to enter prenatal care with optimal health. However, preconception behaviors were uncommon overall.

The Historical, Psychosocial, and Cultural Context of Breastfeeding in the African American Community.

Breastfeeding provides a range of benefits for the infant's growth, immunity, and development. It also has health benefits for the mother, including a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer, earlier return to prepregnancy weight, reduction of postpartum bleeding, and reduced risk of osteoporosis. There are a number of complex factors that influence the decision to initiate and continue breastfeeding, including those "external" to women, such as cultural beliefs. The cultural context and environment of decision making are illuminated through the prism of traditions and historical and cultural events. The ideology and sentiment of breastfeeding have changed during the course of history and have evolved within the African American community. Throughout the evolution of infant feeding practices, historical aftermaths have contributed to the legacy and emotional context of infant feeding trends. The tradition of wet nursing for African American women is inherently linked to white supremacy, slavery, medical racism and the physical, emotional, and mental abuse that enslaved African American women endured. Thus, the decision to breastfeed and the act of breastfeeding may remain deeply affected by the generational trauma of wet nursing during slavery. The associated negative connotation of wet nursing, slavery, and medical exploitation is one of the many nuanced cultural barriers that denies Black women and infants the many health benefits of breastfeeding.

Implementation of a Postpartum Hemorrhage Safety Bundle at an Urban Safety-Net Hospital.

Background Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of preventable maternal morbidity and mortality. Standardized response to obstetric hemorrhage is associated with significant improvement in maternal outcomes, yet implementation can be challenging. Objective The primary objective is to describe the methodology for program implementation of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Safety Bundle on PPH at an urban safety-net hospital. Methods Over an 18-month period, interventions geared toward (1) risk assessment and stratification, (2) hemorrhage identification and management, (3) team communication and simulation, and (4) debriefs and case review were implemented. Hemorrhage risk assessment stratification rates were tracked overtime as an early measure of bundle compliance. Results Hemorrhage risk assessment stratification rates improved to >90% during bundle implementation. Conclusion Keys to implementation included multidisciplinary stakeholder commitment, stepwise and iterative approach, and parallel systems for monitoring and evaluation Implementation of a PPH safety bundle is feasible in a resource-constrained setting.

Executive Summary and Call to Action: Maternal Mortality Summit at National Medical Association Meeting, July 28, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii Obstetrics and Gynecology Section of the National Medical Association.

Non-Hispanic black women are 3-4 fold more likely to experience a maternal death than white women in the US, a health disparity that has been persistent for the past 50 years. The complete explanation for this disparity is unknown, but awareness of factors contributing to this disparity is key in addressing it. To address the emerging public health issue of the high rate of maternal mortality in African American women, NMA leaders in obstetrics and gynecology and women's health care, family planning, and reproductive health gathered for the "Black Maternal Mortality Summit." The Summit was held in conjunction with the 117th Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly of the NMA. Reducing maternal mortality will take a multifaceted approach. It was the goal of this summit and writing group that this workshop and executive summary with recommendations will be a call to action to establish the will for developing and implementing developed guidelines and protocols to reduce maternal mortality among vulnerable patient populations.

The influence of lack of reference conditions on dosimetry in pre-clinical radiotherapy with medium energy x-ray beams.

Despite well-established dosimetry in clinical radiotherapy, dose measurements in pre-clinical and radiobiology studies are frequently inadequate, thus undermining the reliability and reproducibility of published findings. The lack of suitable dosimetry protocols, coupled with the increasing complexity of pre-clinical irradiation platforms, undermines confidence in preclinical studies and represents a serious obstacle in the translation to clinical practice. To accurately measure output of a pre-clinical radiotherapy unit, appropriate Codes of Practice (CoP) for medium energy x-rays needs to be employed. However, determination of absorbed dose to water (Dw) relies on application of backscatter factor (Bw) employing in-air method or carrying out in-phantom measurement at the reference depth of 2 cm in a full backscatter (i.e. 30 × 30 × 30 cm3) condition. Both of these methods require thickness of at least 30 cm of underlying material, which are never fulfilled in typical pre-clinical irradiations. This work is focused on evaluation the effects of the lack of recommended reference conditions in dosimetry measurements for pre-clinical settings and is aimed at extending the recommendations of the current CoP to practical experimental conditions and highlighting the potential impact of the lack of correct backscatter considerations on radiobiological studies.

Development of an anatomically correct mouse phantom for dosimetry measurement in small animal radiotherapy research.

Significant improvements in radiotherapy are likely to come from biological rather than technical optimization, for example increasing tumour radiosensitivity via combination with targeted therapies. Such paradigms must first be evaluated in preclinical models for efficacy, and recent advances in small animal radiotherapy research platforms allow advanced irradiation protocols, similar to those used clinically, to be carried out in orthotopic models. Dose assessment in such systems is complex however, and a lack of established tools and methodologies for traceable and accurate dosimetry is currently limiting the capabilities of such platforms and slowing the clinical uptake of new approaches. Here we report the creation of an anatomically correct phantom, fabricated from materials with tissue-equivalent electron density, into which dosimetry detectors can be incorporated for measurement as part of quality control (QC). The phantom also allows training in preclinical radiotherapy planning and cross-institution validation of dose delivery protocols for small animal radiotherapy platforms without the need to sacrifice animals, with high reproducibility. Mouse CT data was acquired and segmented into soft tissue, bone and lung. The skeleton was fabricated using 3D printing, whilst lung was created using computer numerical control (CNC) milling. Skeleton and lung were then set into a surface-rendered mould and soft tissue material added to create a whole-body phantom. Materials for fabrication were characterized for atomic composition and attenuation for x-ray energies typically found in small animal irradiators. Finally cores were CNC milled to allow intracranial incorporation of bespoke detectors (alanine pellets) for dosimetry measurement.

Maintenance of head and neck tumor on-chip: gateway to personalized treatment?

AIM: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are solid tumors with low overall survival (40-60%). In a move toward personalized medicine, maintenance of tumor biopsies in microfluidic tissue culture devices is being developed. METHODOLOGY/RESULTS: HNSCC (n = 15) was dissected (5-10 mg) and either analyzed immediately or cultured in a microfluidic device (37°C) for 48 h. No difference was observed in morphology between pre- and postculture specimens. Dissociated samples were analyzed using trypan blue exclusion (viability), propidium iodide flow cytometry (death) and MTS assay (proliferation) with no significant difference observed highlighting tissue maintenance. Computational fluid dynamics showed laminar flow within the system. CONCLUSION: The microfluidic culture system successfully maintained HNSCC for 48 h, the culture system will allow testing of different treatment modalities with response monitoring.

Risk Management and Medico-Legal Issues in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is a leading source of malpractice claims for radiologists and gynecologists. Delay in or failure to diagnosis was the second most common cause for allegations of malpractice and failure to diagnosis breast cancer accounted for the majority of these claims. The amount paid in indemnity for such claims was only second to claims paid for neurologically impaired newborns. Issues involved in documentation and communication are reviewed with a focus on specific medical legal cases. Obstetrician gynecologists must remain cognizant of the potential for liability.

Mammographic Breast Density and Breast Cancer Risk: Implications of the Breast Density Legislation for Health Care Practitioners.

Breast density has emerged as a critical phenotypic marker of increased breast cancer risk. The breast density legislation, passed in multiple states, requires patient notification of the implications of the breast density on breast cancer risk and screening. Supplemental screening may be suggested in the state regulation; however, there are limited data to guide conversations with patients. This article will review the current state of supplemental screening in women with dense breasts and discuss theories of the mechanism of action. Guidance is provided to assist in shared decision making and appropriate patient counseling.

Prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been found to be predictive of survival outcome in a range of tumors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of pretreatment (NLR) in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 140 patients with laryngeal SCC treated between 2005 and 2010 in the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust was carried out. Patient records were evaluated and both pretreatment neutrophil and lymphocyte counts were documented together with survival data, sex, smoking status, nodal classification, and disease staging. RESULTS: An elevated NLR was significantly associated with advanced disease stage (eg, node-positive and tumors stage III and IV). In addition, a high NLR was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) but not disease-free survival (DFS) on multivariate analysis, with the greatest significance seen in patients with the highest NLR. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment NLR may serve as a useful prognostic marker in laryngeal SCC; however, a large prospective study is required to determine an optimal NLR cutoff value. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1903-E1908, 2016.

Anatomy, classification and treatment of intracapsular hip fractures.

Hip fractures are increasingly common, given the increasing ageing, osteoporotic population with significant medical comorbidities. This review summarizes the anatomy of the proximal femur, reviews classification systems and gives recommendations for use of each treatment modality.

Analysis of radiation-induced cell death in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and rat liver maintained in microfluidic devices.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate how head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tissue biopsies maintained in a pseudo in vivo environment within a bespoke microfluidic device respond to radiation treatment. STUDY DESIGN: Feasibility study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients with HNSCC were recruited, and liver tissue from 5 Wistar rats was obtained. A microfluidic device was used to maintain the tissue biopsy samples in a viable state. Rat liver was used to optimize the methodology. HNSCC was obtained from patients with T1-T3 laryngeal or oropharyngeal SCC; N1-N2 metastatic cervical lymph nodes were also obtained. Irradiation consisted of single doses of between 2 Gy and 40 Gy and a fractionated course of 5×2 Gy. Cell death was assessed in the tissue effluent using the soluble markers lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cytochrome c and in the tissue by immunohistochemical detection of cleaved cytokeratin18 (M30 antibody). RESULTS: A significant surge in LDH release was demonstrated in the rat liver after a single dose of 20 Gy; in HNSCC, it was seen after 40 Gy compared with the control. There was no significant difference in cytochrome c release after 5 Gy or 10 Gy. M30 demonstrated a dose-dependent increase in apoptotic index for a given increase in single-dose radiotherapy. There was a significant increase in apoptotic index between 1×2 Gy and 5×2 Gy. CONCLUSION: M30 is a superior method compared with soluble markers in detecting low-dose radiation-induced cell death. This microfluidic technique can be used to assess radiation-induced cell death in HNSCC and therefore has the potential to be used to predict radiation response.

Breast cancer risk assessment, prevention, and the future.

Today breast cancer remains a major public health problem, although reducing its risk is now an achievable medical objective. Risk-assessment models may be used in estimating a woman's risk for developing breast cancer and to direct suitable candidates for preventive therapy. Researchers are attempting to enhance individualized risk assessment through incorporation of phenotypic biomarkers. Individual selective estrogen receptor modulators have been approved for breast cancer risk reduction, and other drug categories are being studied. It is critical that obstetrician-gynecologists be familiar with the evolving science of the risk assessment of breast cancer as well as interventional and surveillance strategies.

Increased frequency and suppressive activity of CD127(low/-) regulatory T cells in the peripheral circulation of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma are associated with advanced stage and nodal involvement.

The presence of regulatory T (Treg) cells is thought to be an important mechanism by which head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) successfully evades the immune system. Using multicolour flow cytometry, the frequency and functional capacity of two CD4(+)  CD127(low/-) Treg cell populations, separated on the basis of different levels of CD25 expression (CD25(inter) and CD25(high) ), from the peripheral circulation of newly presenting HNSCC patients were assessed with regard to clinicopathological features and healthy controls. The frequency of circulating Treg cells was similar between HNSCC patients and healthy controls, and for patients with HNSCC developing from different subsites (laryngeal compared with oropharyngeal). However, patients with advanced stage tumours and those with nodal involvement had significantly elevated levels of CD4(+)  CD25(high)  CD127(low/-) Treg cells compared with patients who had early stage tumours (P = 0·03) and those without nodal involvement (P = 0·03), respectively. CD4(+)  CD25(high)  CD127(low/-) Treg cells from the entire HNSCC patient cohort and from patients whose tumours had metastasized to the lymph nodes were also shown to suppress the proliferation of effector T cells significantly more, compared with those from healthy controls (P = 0·04) or patients with no nodal involvement (P = 0·04). Additionally, CD4(+)  CD25(inter)  CD127(low/-) Treg cells consistently induced greater suppressive activity than CD4(+)  CD25(high)  CD127(low/-) Treg cells on the proliferation of the effector T-cell populations (CD4(+)  CD25(-)  CD127(-/+) and CD4(+)  CD25(+)  CD127(+) ). Peripheral Treg cells, identified by the CD127(low/-) phenotype, have been shown to be influenced by a patient's tumour stage and/or nodal status in HNSCC; suggesting a role in tumour progression that could be manipulated by future immunotherapy.