Impact of an educational intervention on patient safety culture among gynecology-obstetrics' healthcare professionals.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, patient safety has begun to receive particular attention and has become a priority all over the world. Patient Safety Culture (PSC) is widely recognized as a key tenet that must be improved in order to enhance patient safety and prevent adverse events. However, in gynecology and obstetrics, despite the criticality of the environment, few studies have focused on improving PSC in these units. This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of an educational program to improve PSC among health professionals working in the obstetric unit of a Tunisian university hospital. METHODS: We conducted a quasi-experimental study in the obstetric unit of a university hospital in Sousse (Tunisia). All the obstetric unit's professionals were invited to take part in the study (n = 95). The intervention consisted of an educational intervention with workshops and self-learning documents on patient safety and quality of care. The study instrument was the French validated version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Normality of the data was checked using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The comparison of dimensions' scores before and after the intervention was carried out by the chi2 test. The significance level was set at 0.05. RESULTS: In total, 73 participants gave survey feedback in pre-test and 68 in post-test (response rates of 76.8% and 71.6, respectively). Eight dimensions improved significantly between pre- and post-tests. These dimensions were D2 "Frequency of adverse events reported" (from 30.1 to 65.6%, p < 0.001), D3 "Supervisor/Manager expectations and actions promoting patient safety" (from 38.0 to 76.8%, p < 0.001), D4 "Continuous improvement and organizational learning" (from 37.5 to 41.0%, p < 0.01), D5 "Teamwork within units" (from 58.2 to 79.7%, p < 0.01), D6 "Communication openness" (from 40.6 to 70.6%, p < 0.001), and D7 "Non-punitive response to error" (from 21.1 to 42.7%, p < 0.01), D9 "Management support for patient safety" (from 26.4 to 72.8%, p < 0.001), and D10 "Teamwork across units" (from 31.4 to 76.2%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Educational intervention, including workshops and self-learning as pedagogical tools can improve PSC. The sustainability of the improvements made depends on the collaboration of all personnel to create and promote a culture of safety. Staff commitment at all levels remains the cornerstone of any continuous improvement in the area of patient safety.

Ovarian Cancer Was Discovered in Sister Mary Joseph's Nodule.

Introduction: Sister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN) is a rare illness characterized by an umbilical mass caused by tumor metastases in the abdomen or pelvis. The most common main site of SMJN in women is ovarian cancer. Case Presentation. A 73-year-old woman with no pathological history came to our emergency room with a one-month history of umbilicus enlargement. A 9-centimeter uncomfortable umbilical swelling with hard consistency was discovered during a clinical examination. An ovarian tumor with several local expansions was seen on an abdominal CT scan. It was linked to peritoneal metastases, one of which extends via a supraumbilical hernial orifice and into intestinal tissues in the same hernia sac. The umbilical tumor was removed from the patient. A moderately differentiated serous carcinoma with ovarian origin was identified in a periumbilical site on histological testing. Conclusion: The presence of an SMJN is a rare but significant issue that clinicians must examine because it is associated with a bad prognosis. Early detection and diagnosis of the original lesion can lead to more effective treatment and a higher rate of survival.

Ewing's Sarcoma: An Uncommon Breast Tumor.

Ewing's sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumors (EWS/PNET) are rare malignant and aggressive tumors, usually seen in the trunk and lower limbs of children and young adults. They are uncommon in the breast. We report a case of a 43-year-old woman who developed a painless breast mass. An initial core needle biopsy concluded to a fibrocystic dystrophy contrasting with a rapidly growing mass; thus a large lumpectomy was done. Diagnosis of primary PNET of the breast was established, based on both histopathological examination and immunohistochemical findings. Surgical margins were positive, therefore, left modified radical mastectomy with axillary lymph nodes dissection was performed. The patient was given 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy containing cyclophosphamide, adriamycin and vincristine. Twenty months later, she is in life without recurrence or metastasis. EWS/PNET may impose a diagnostic challenge. Indeed, mammography and ultrasonography features are non specific. The histopathological pattern is variable depending on the degree of neuroectodermal differentiation. Immuno-phenotyping is necessary and genetic study is the only confirmatory tool of diagnosis showing a characteristic cytogenetic anomaly; t (11; 22) translocation.

Mammary-like adenocarcinoma of the vulva associated to Paget's disease: a case report.

Mammary-like adenocarcinoma of the vulva associated to Paget's disease is exceedingly rare. So, it is very important to perform all the pathological and immunohistochemical investigations to achieve differential diagnosis from both a metastatic lesion from an orthotopic breast cancer and a vulvar adnexal tumor. This report describes a case of vulvar Paget's disease associated with underlying mammary-like adenocarcinoma diagnosed in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Farhat Hached university hospital of Sousse in Tunisia. We also review previously reported cases of primary breast-like carcinoma of the vulva with or without Paget's disease.