Quality of life in patients affected by endometrial cancer: comparison among laparotomy, laparoscopy and vaginal approach.

The aim of this study is to verify if the surgical approach (laparoscopy/laparotomy/vaginal) in stage-I endometrial cancer treatment, may have effects on intra- and post-operative outcomes and on the patient's quality of life. The study group consisted of patients with histological diagnosis of type-I endometrial adenocarcinoma, stage-I. They were divided into three groups according to surgical approach chosen (laparotomic/laparoscopic/vaginal).

Female stress urinary incontinence: clinical efficacy and satisfaction after transobturator adjustable tape sling. An observational longitudinal cohort study.

We performed an observational longitudinal cohort study on patients affected by stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and surgically treated with a transobturator adjustable tape sling (TOA) in order to evaluate this surgical procedure in terms of efficacy, safety, quality of life (QoL) improvement, and patient satisfaction. For all patients, we recorded: general features, preoperative SUI risk factors, obstetrics history, preoperative urodynamic tests, intraoperative/postoperative complications, number of postoperative sling regulations, postmicturition residue, and hospital stay. All patients were asked to complete the validated short version of the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6) questionnaire 18 months after discharge to evaluate the efficacy of the TOA system.

Assessment of tumor size as a useful marker for the surgical staging of endometrial cancer.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the estimation of tumor size may improve endometrial cancer treatment. We conducted an observational study aimed at elucidating the association between tumor size and other universally accepted prognostic factors in order to identify suitable preoperative parameters which can guide surgery in a subgroup of early corpus endometrial cancer. We found that when tumor size increased, both stage and grading were significantly increased.

Total laparoscopic hysterectomy: our experience from 2008 to 2012.

Objectives: Nowadays total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) is a surgical procedure increasingly adopted for the treatment of benign and malign uterine disease. The aim of our study is to revise our recent experience of TLH.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study conduced on 101 patients between 2008 and 2012.

Impact of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy on the Natural History of Cervical Precancerous Lesions: A 17-Year Institutional Longitudinal Cohort Study.

We performed an observational cohort study in order to assess the correlation between precancerous cervical lesions (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN]) and immunological state in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women treated by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). We analyzed 194 HIV-infected women referred to the Parma-Universitary Hospital for early detection of human papilloma virus-induced CINs. We analyzed cytology, colposcopy, and CIN degree according to HAART: group A untreated and group B treated.

Risk of preterm delivery associated with prior treatment of cervical precancerous lesion according to the depth of the cone.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the surgical excisional procedures for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) treatment both on subsequent fertility (cervical factor) and pregnancy complication (risk of spontaneous preterm delivery). We retrospectively analyzed 236 fertile women who underwent conization for CIN. We included in the study 47 patients who carried on pregnancy and delivered a viable fetus.

Conservative treatment for interstitial monochorionic twin pregnancy: case report and review of the published work.

Interstitial pregnancy is considered one of the most hazardous types of ectopic pregnancies, with a mortality rate of 2-2.5%. We describe a case of a viable monochorionic twin pregnancy in a 35-year-old woman successfully treated with systemic methotrexate associated with bilateral uterine arteries' embolization.

Can the impact of pelvic inflammatory disease on fertility be prevented? Epidemiology, clinical features and surgical treatment: evolution over 8 years.

Objective: To assess the epidemiological features and the trend of care of patients diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and to assess most predictive parameters of severe disease, for which surgical management is warranted, in particular when surgery is certain to cause permanent infertility.

Study Design: The study population was divided into 3 groups: medical therapy only, conservative surgery, and destructive surgery (surgical procedures that impaired fertility). Data from the 3 groups were compared with respect to general and medical history data, clinical signs on admission, laboratory tests, and ultrasound findings.

Dedifferentiated endometrial cancer: an atypical case diagnosed from cerebellar and adrenal metastasis: case presentation and review of literature.

Dedifferentiated endometrial cancer (DEC) is microscopically characterized by the presence of high-grade areas emerging from low-grade tumour. DEC is an aggressive tumour even when the dedifferentiated component represents only 20% of the entire neoplasm. A proper histological diagnosis is essential to define the most appropriate therapeutic approach for these tumors, since they are characterized by a particularly aggressive trend and by an extremely poor prognosis.

A prospective, case-control study on the lipid profile and the cardiovascular risk of menopausal women on oestrogen plus progestogen therapy in a northern Italy province.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of oestrogen plus progestogen therapy (EPT) on the lipid metabolism of menopausal patients.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study on 223 patients with clinical and blood chemistry diagnosis of menopause, who were eligible for hormone therapy and a follow-up period lasting at least 5 years. We selected a control group.

Anti-Müllerian hormone serum values and ovarian reserve: can it predict a decrease in fertility after ovarian stimulation by ART cycles?

Background: A variety of indicators of potentially successful ovarian stimulation cycles are available, including biomarkers such as anti-Mullerian hormone. The aim of our study was to confirm the usefulness of serum anti-Mullerian hormone assay in predicting ovarian response and reproductive outcome in women eligible for ART cycles.

Materials: Forty-six women undergoing ART cycles at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Parma were recruited from March-to-June 2010.

Calcium supplementation and prevention of preeclampsia: a meta-analysis.

Background: Since the early 1980s, epidemiological evidence has suggested a connection between low calcium intake and preeclampsia The purpose of this meta-analysis is to summarize current evidence regarding calcium supplementation during pregnancy in predicting preeclampsia and associated maternal-fetal complications.

Methods: Literature revision of all RCT (random allocation of calcium versus placebo) available in MEDLINE/PUBMED up to 2/29/2012 regarding calcium supplementation during pregnancy for preventing preeclampsia. We used the Mantel-Haenszel's Method for four subgroup of patients: Adequate calcium intake; Low calcium intake; Low risk of preeclampsia; High risk of preeclampsia.

[Rhabdomyoma of the vagina. Case report and short literature review].

The differential diagnosis of vaginal polypoid masses should take rhabdomyoma into consideration even it is an extremely rare tumor. The present report describes a vaginal cystic mass located in the anterior wall of an asymptomatic, 38-year-old, Caucasian, nulliparous woman. Local excision and subsequent pathological examination were performed.

Maternal hydration therapy improves the quantity of amniotic fluid and the pregnancy outcome in third-trimester isolated oligohydramnios: a controlled randomized institutional trial.

Objectives: Amniotic fluid is important for the maintenance of fetal well-being; therefore, an amniotic fluid deficiency, ie, oligohydramnios, can have multiple impacts on the prognosis of the pregnancy. In some cases, there are no evident fetal or maternal causes, and the condition is called isolated oligohydramnios. The aim of our study was to validate maternal intravenous and oral hydration therapy as a means for improvement of isolated oligohydramnios in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Extragenital Müllerian adenosarcoma with pouch of Douglas location.

Background: Of all female genital tract tumors, 1-3% are stromal malignancies. In 8-10% of cases, these are represented by Müllerian adenosarcoma an extremely rare tumor characterized by a stromal component of usually low-grade malignancy and by a benign glandular epithelial component. Variant that arises in the pouch of Douglas is scarcely mentioned in the medical literature.

Caesarean delivery through deliberate posterior hysterotomy in irreducible uterine torsion: case report.

Gravid uterus rotation is a normal finding in the third trimester of pregnancy. However, a rotation greater than 45 degrees around the longitudinal axis of the uterus--uterine torsion--is a rare pathological condition in the obstetrical practice. We reporte the case of 180 degrees torsion of a myomatous uterus at preterm in which the foetus, in breech presentation, was delivered through a deliberate posterior hysterotomy.

CA 125 serum values in surgically treated endometriosis patients and its relationships with anatomic sites of endometriosis and pregnancy rate.

Endometriosis is a benign gynecologic disease defined as the presence of functional endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity, causing dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, menstrual irregularities, and infertility. Serum CA-125 measurement is now a consolidated method for diagnosing this condition, and its interpretation has posed a number of problems, particularly regarding utility in diagnosing minimal-mild endometriosis, whereas its value as a diagnostic aid in moderate-severe stages is well recognized. In our cohort, serum CA-125 values were significantly elevated in patients with ovarian and mixed endometriosis lesions (median levels 48 U/mL), compared with those who had exclusively extraovarian foci (median levels 27 U/mL), and so the correlation between this marker and the surgical and pathologic finding of ovarian and deep endometriosis was found to be statistically significant; however, the location did not affect the fertility rate.

Randomised prospective study of abdominal wall closure in patients with gynaecological cancer.

Background: Median laparotomy is the most common approach to the abdominopelvic cavity in patients with gynaecological tumours.

Aims: The primary endpoint of the study was to evaluate the onset of incisional hernia. The secondary endpoint was to evaluate the onset of infection, wound dehiscence, wound infection, and scar pain during the post-operative period.

Squamotransitional cell carcinoma of the vagina: diagnosis and clinical management: a literature review starting from a rare case report.

Primary squamotransitional cell carcinoma (STCC) is rare squamous cell tumor variant resembling transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary tract. STCC occurs rarely in the vagina and its clinical and pathological correlates are poorly known. We report a unique case of a 66-year-old Italian woman with STCC of the vagina.

Role of D-dimer testing in severe pelvic inflammatory disease: a new usable marker to assess the need for fertility-impairing surgery?

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), like many other inflammatory diseases, can be characterized by an inflammation-induced activation of the coagulation cascade, resulting in the production of D-dimers. In this study it is demonstrated how high levels of D-dimers, assayed at the time of hospitalization, are encountered in patients diagnosed with PID and how the levels of this parameter are significantly higher in patients, which due to the severity of the disease, needed surgical treatment. Therefore the d-dimer is shown to be an important parameter to be considered in the therapeutic counseling of severe forms of PID.

Cervical length as a predictor of preterm delivery: gestational age-related percentiles vs fixed cut-offs.

Background: To determine whether preterm delivery is more effectively predicted by sonographic cervical length measurement using fixed cut-off or gestational age-specific percentiles.

Methods: One hundred and eight patients hospitalized for suspected preterm labor (PTL) were studied prospectively between the 20th and the 33rd week of gestation.

Results: Cervical length below 15 mm, 25 mm and the 2.

Effect of estrogen therapy for 1 year on thyroid volume and thyroid nodules in postmenopausal women.

Objective: Estrogen receptors are present in thyroid follicular cells in normal and neoplastic tissue. We evaluated changes in total thyroid volume and volume of thyroid nodules in postmenopausal women given either hormone therapy (HT) or no treatment in a 1-year observational follow-up.

Design: We studied 33 women receiving HT and 76 women receiving no treatment, comparing total thyroid volume, thyroid nodule volume, and serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone and estradiol at baseline and 1 year of follow-up.

The relation of season of birth to severity of menopausal symptoms.

Objective: Season of birth influences the rate of several psychiatric disorders. In this study, we investigated whether climacteric symptoms and, in particular, psychological and somatic symptoms of postmenopausal women were influenced by their season of birth.

Design: This retrospective multicenter study was performed on 2,541 women in natural menopause, free of hormone therapy.