Atypical Endometrial Hyperplasia and Concurrent Cancer: A Comprehensive Overview on a Challenging Clinical Condition.

The present review regarding atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH) focused on the main debated factors regarding this challenging clinical condition: (i) predictive variables of occult endometrial cancer (EC); (ii) the rate of EC underestimation according to different endometrial sampling methods; and (iii) the appropriateness of lymph node status assessment. When cancer is detected, approximately 90% of cases include low-risk EC, although intermediate/high-risk cases have been found in 10-13% of women with cancer. Older age, diabetes, high BMI, and increased endometrial thickness are the most recurrent factors in women with EC. However, the predictive power of these independent variables measured on internal validation sets showed disappointing results. Relative to endometrial sampling methods, hysteroscopic endometrial resection (Hys-res) provided the lowest EC underestimation, ranging between 6 and 11%. Further studies, including larger sample sizes of women undergoing Hys-res, are needed to confirm these findings. These data are urgently needed, especially for female candidates for conservative treatment. Finally, the evaluation of lymph node status measured on 660 of over 20,000 women showed a lymph node positivity of 2.3%. Although there has been an increase in the use of this procedure in AEH in recent years, the present data cannot recommend this option in AEH based on a cost/risk/benefit ratio.

Improvement in Hematology Interprofessional Care: Simulation With an Emphasis on Collaboration.

Introduction: For many training programs, including hematology, there are limited structured opportunities to practice collaboration as a competency. Training is often limited to ad hoc interactions during clinical rotations. Accordingly, there is further need for immersive and standardized collaboration educational programs. This pilot study explored simulation for developing and assessing collaboration competency among hematology residents. Methods: Two standardized simulation center scenarios were developed that required residents to work in interprofessional teams. The objectives were to develop collaboration competence and confidence through experiential learning and facilitated reflection. Team members included education and simulation experts as well as hematology nurses as embedded participants. Case 1 presented a 72-year-old male with stage 4 lymphoma experiencing shortness of breath during a rituximab infusion. Case 2 presented a 68-year-old male who suffered a provoked pulmonary embolism. Both cases utilized a simulated clinic space. Pre, post, and 3-month questionnaires (self-assessed collaboration competency and simulation evaluation) were completed. Each session included structured debriefing with facilitated reflection focused on collaboration. Results: Seven senior hematology subspecialty residents participated. Despite residents entering the simulation cases with confidence in collaboration, higher collaboration confidence ratings were observed on postsimulation questionnaires (8.2 vs. 7.6 on a 10-point Likert scale). Residents demonstrated awareness of appropriate collaboration skills, but at times failed to implement knowledge into action. Facilitated reflection during the debrief helped residents critique their collaboration performance and develop improvement plans. Discussion: Simulation is a promising tool for teaching and assessing collaboration within hematology training.

Bone health in symptomatic carriers of haemophilia A: a protocol for a multicentre prospective matched-cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Haemophilia A is an X linked inherited bleeding disorder, caused by a decrease in coagulation factor VIII. Persons with haemophilia experience repeated musculoskeletal bleeding, which can lead to decreased range of motion, irreversible joint damage, low bone mineral density (BMD), and are at greater risk for osteoporosis. Women heterozygous for this mutation, also known as haemophilia A carriers, can have bleeding symptoms and even experience joint bleeding evidenced by radiological soft tissue and osteochondral changes. The prevalence of low BMD as a risk factor for osteoporosis has never been evaluated in carriers of haemophilia, and given the recent findings which suggest subclinical musculoskeletal bleeding in carrier women, we hypothesise that they too are at risk of impaired bone health. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a national multicentre prospective matched-cohort study to compare BMD T-scores among symptomatic haemophilia A carriers, 50 years of age or older, with age-matched and body mass index-matched non-carriers (1:1). A total of 40 symptomatic carriers and 40 matched non-carriers will be recruited from St. Michael's Hospital, Kingston General Hospital in Ontario, Canada and Foothills Medical Centre in Alberta, Canada. Multivariable linear regression models will be used to estimate the effect of haemophilia carriership on BMD T-scores, adjusting for age, body mass index and other relevant covariates. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The protocol was designed and will be conducted in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Research ethics approval was obtained from St. Michael's Hospital, Foothills Medical Centre, and Kingston General Hospital. Findings will be presented at international venues such as the American Society of Haematology and the World Federation of Haemophilia World Congress. The authors of this study will seek publication in journals such as Blood, Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, American Journal ofHematology and British Journal ofHaematology.

The experience of postpartum bleeding in women with inherited bleeding disorders.

INTRODUCTION: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) affects 6% of all deliveries and is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide (19.7%). The incidence of PPH in women with inherited bleeding disorders is substantially greater than in unaffected women; however, estimates of relative risk are highly variable. To date, their experience with postpartum bleeding has not been well studied. OBJECTIVE: We set out to explore the experience with, understanding of, and attitudes regarding postpartum bleeding among women with inherited bleeding disorders. METHODS: This qualitative study involved focused interviews of women with inherited bleeding disorders about postpartum bleeding. Women followed at a multidisciplinary clinic for women with inherited bleeding disorders who have experienced childbirth within the last 5 years were included in the study. The interview style was semistructured. Interviews continued until the point of saturation of themes. All interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. RESULTS: We interviewed 10 women with inherited bleeding disorders. Themes that emerged were normalization of excessive vaginal bleeding, difficulty distinguishing normal from abnormal postpartum bleeding, and empowerment of women by having a clear delivery care plan. CONCLUSION: In this study, women with inherited bleeding disorders were desensitized to heavy vaginal blood loss. As a result, excessive postpartum bleeding was not recognized by many of the women we interviewed. Results highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary delivery care plan for these women. Findings revealed key areas for targeted multidisciplinary intervention.

Development and implementation of a quality improvement toolkit, iron deficiency in pregnancy with maternal iron optimization (IRON MOM): A before-and-after study.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency (ID) in pregnancy is a common problem that can compromise both maternal and fetal health. Although daily iron supplementation is a simple and effective means of treating ID in pregnancy, ID and ID anemia (IDA) often go unrecognized and untreated due to lack of knowledge of their implications and competing clinical priorities. METHODS AND FINDINGS: In order to enhance screening and management of ID and IDA in pregnancy, we developed a novel quality-improvement toolkit: ID in pregnancy with maternal iron optimization (IRON MOM), implemented at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada. It included clinical pathways for diagnosis and management, educational resources for clinicians and patients, templated laboratory requisitions, and standardized oral iron prescriptions. To assess the impact of IRON MOM, we retrospectively extracted laboratory data of all women seen in both the obstetrics clinic and the inpatient delivery ward settings from the electronic patient record (EPR) to compare measures pre- and post-implementation of the toolkit: a process measure of the rates of ferritin testing, and outcome measures of the proportion of women with an antenatal (predelivery) hemoglobin value below 100 g/L (anemia), the proportion of women who received a red blood cell (RBC) transfusion during pregnancy, and the proportion of women who received an RBC transfusion immediately following delivery or in the 8-week postpartum period. The pre-intervention period was from January 2012 to December 2016, and the post-intervention period was from January 2017 to December 2017. From the EPR, 1,292 and 2,400 ferritin tests and 16,603 and 3,282 antenatal hemoglobin results were extracted pre- and post-intervention, respectively. One year after implementation of IRON MOM, we found a 10-fold increase in the rate of ferritin testing in the obstetric clinics at our hospital and a lower risk of antenatal hemoglobin values below 100 g/L (pre-intervention 13.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 13.0%-14.11%]; post-intervention 10.6% [95% CI 9.6%-11.7%], p < 0.0001). In addition, a significantly lower proportion of women received an RBC transfusion during their pregnancy (1.2% pre-intervention versus 0.8% post-intervention, p = 0.0499) or immediately following delivery and in the 8 weeks following (2.3% pre-intervention versus 1.6% post-intervention, p = 0.0214). Limitations of this study include the use of aggregate data extracted from the EPR, and lack of a control group. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of a standardized toolkit including diagnostic and management pathways as well as other aids increased ferritin testing and decreased the incidence of anemia among women presenting for delivery at our site. This strategy also resulted in reduced proportions of women receiving RBC transfusion during pregnancy and in the first 8 weeks postpartum. The IRON MOM toolkit is a low-tech strategy that could be easily scaled to other settings.