Medical abortion in Ghana: A non-randomized, non-inferiority study of access through pharmacies compared with clinics.

Objectives: To compare self-reported clinical outcomes following medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol sourced from either a pharmacy or health clinic.

Study Design: We conducted a prospective, non-randomized, non-inferiority cohort study across four regions in Ghana, from high-volume pharmacies and health clinics. Participants seeking medical abortion (less than nine weeks' gestation) who met usual medical abortion eligibility criteria were recruited.

Can mid-level providers manage medical abortion after 12 weeks' gestation as safely and effectively as physicians? A non-inferiority, randomized controlled trial in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Objective: To determine whether clinical outcomes among clients undergoing medical abortion after 12 weeks' gestation differ by provider cadre.

Methods: Randomized controlled trial conducted among eligible clients seeking abortion between 13 and 20 weeks' gestation. Participants seeking in-facility abortion were randomized to receive care from a mid-level provider (nurse/midwife) or physician.

Examining reuse and replacement procedures for Ipas manual vacuum aspiration and cannulae in nine countries.

Objective: To determine how many times Ipas manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) instruments are reused, for what reasons, when the instruments are replaced and/or discarded, and what the barriers are to replacing them.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods cross-sectional study of health care providers who provide MVA services and key stakeholders in the supply chain to understand reuse and replacement of Ipas MVA aspirators and cannulae. Qualitative interviews focused on procurement and replacement of Ipas MVA instruments.

A prospective, comparative study of clinical outcomes following clinic-based versus self-use of medical abortion.

Background: To determine whether clinical outcomes differ among women accessing a combined medical abortion regimen from a health clinic when compared with those accessing it from a pharmacy.

Methods: We conducted a multicentre, prospective, comparative, non-inferiority study of participants aged ≥15 years seeking medical abortion from five clinics and five adjacent pharmacy clusters in three provinces of Cambodia. Participants were recruited in-person at the point of purchase (clinic or pharmacy).

Label comprehension of a combined mifepristone and misoprostol product for medical abortion: A pilot study in South Africa.

Objectives: As an important next step in developing an over-the-counter (OTC) misoprostol-mifepristone product, this study aims to assess the comprehension of a medical abortion label.

Study Design: We conducted a pilot study utilizing convenience sampling to enroll women in rural and urban communities at four sites in two South African provinces. Trained, female recruiters prescreened and consented potential participants.

Medical abortion in the late first trimester: a systematic review.

Objective: To describe the efficacy, safety, and acceptability of medical abortion in the late first trimester.

Study Design: We searched PubMed and Cochrane databases for articles in any language that examined the success of medical abortion at gestational ages (>63 to≤84 days gestation). We sought articles that compared: medical abortion with surgical abortion at this gestational age, combination mifepristone and misoprostol and/or misoprostol alone); different dosages of misoprostol; different routes of misoprostol administration; frequency of dosing; and location of medical abortion (in health care facility vs.

Measuring trust in vaccination: A systematic review.

Vaccine acceptance depends on public trust and confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccines and immunization, the health system, healthcare professionals and the wider vaccine research community. This systematic review analyses the current breadth and depth of vaccine research literature that explicitly refers to the concept of trust within their stated aims or research questions. After duplicates were removed, 19,643 articles were screened by title and abstract.

Developing mHealth Messages to Promote Postmenstrual Regulation Contraceptive Use in Bangladesh: Participatory Interview Study.

Background: Abortions are restricted in Bangladesh, but menstrual regulation is an approved alternative, defined as a procedure of regulating the menstrual cycle when menstruation is absent for a short duration. Use of contraception after menstrual regulation can reduce subsequent unintended pregnancy, but in Bangladesh, the contraceptive method mix is dominated by short-term methods, which have higher discontinuation and failure rates. Mobile phones are a channel via which menstrual regulation clients could be offered contraceptive support after leaving the clinic.

Strategies for addressing vaccine hesitancy - A systematic review.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this systematic review is to identify, describe and assess the potential effectiveness of strategies to respond to issues of vaccine hesitancy that have been implemented and evaluated across diverse global contexts.

Methods: A systematic review of peer reviewed (January 2007-October 2013) and grey literature (up to October 2013) was conducted using a broad search strategy, built to capture multiple dimensions of public trust, confidence and hesitancy concerning vaccines. This search strategy was applied and adapted across several databases and organizational websites.

Understanding vaccine hesitancy around vaccines and vaccination from a global perspective: a systematic review of published literature, 2007-2012.

Vaccine "hesitancy" is an emerging term in the literature and discourse on vaccine decision-making and determinants of vaccine acceptance. It recognizes a continuum between the domains of vaccine acceptance and vaccine refusal and de-polarizes previous characterization of individuals and groups as either anti-vaccine or pro-vaccine. The primary aims of this systematic review are to: 1) identify research on vaccine hesitancy; 2) identify determinants of vaccine hesitancy in different settings including its context-specific causes, its expression and its impact; and 3) inform the development of a model for assessing determinants of vaccine hesitancy in different settings as proposed by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Working Group (SAGE WG) for dealing with vaccine hesitancy.

Measuring vaccine confidence: analysis of data obtained by a media surveillance system used to analyse public concerns about vaccines.

Background: The intensity, spread, and effects of public opinion about vaccines are growing as new modes of communication speed up information sharing, contributing to vaccine hesitancy, refusals, and disease outbreaks. We aimed to develop a new application of existing surveillance systems to detect and characterise early signs of vaccine issues. We also aimed to develop a typology of concerns and a way to assess the priority of each concern.

Urinary continence after radical prostatectomy: the patient perspective.

Introduction: To compare the commonly used 0-1 pad definition of urinary continence for postoperative functional outcome after radical prostatectomy and the correlation with self-reported urinary continence and to determine whether a patient questionnaire can deliver more accurate continence status rates.

Material And Methods: We evaluated a cohort of 873 men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) at the General Hospital in Vienna between 1998 and 2006. Patients were surveyed with a questionnaire regarding their postoperative outcome and postoperative urinary incontinence.

The short-term use of erythropoetin-stimulating agents: impact on the biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer.

Objective: To examine the impact of short-term preoperative utilization of erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) on biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival rates after open radical retropubic prostatectomy (ORRP) in light of the fact that the risk/benefit of ESAs has recently been questioned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after reports showing a decreased survival.

Patients And Methods: From 2000 to 2008, 1567 patients underwent ORRP and 97.5% of these signed informed consent to participate in the New York University Prospective and Longitudinal Outcomes Study.

Analysis of testosterone suppression in men receiving histrelin, a novel GnRH agonist for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard care in men with advanced prostate cancer. Continuous testosterone suppression is essential to treatment efficacy. Recently a 1 year depot compound, histrelin, (VANTAS: Orion Pharmaceuticals, Finland; Endo Pharmaceuticals, USA), a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog, was approved for hormone therapy of prostate cancer.

Durability and retreatment rates of minimal invasive treatments of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a cross-analysis of the literature.

Background: Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) has been the gold standard of the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In recent years there has been a significant shift in the treatment of BPH and guidelines emphasize minimally invasive surgery as a new treatment option. Minimal invasive technologies (MITs), such as transurethral microwave thermotherapy (TUMT), laser ablations, transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) have emerged as an alternative to the TURP.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia: current clinical practice.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common benign adenoma in men, affecting nearly all of them. BPH represents a clinically significant cause of bladder outflow obstruction in up to 40% of men. The growing frequency of diagnosis is due to increasing life expectancy and a trend toward seeking medical advice at earlier stages of the disease.

Prostate-specific antigen testing and prostate cancer screening.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening is an integral part of current screening for prostate cancer. Together with digital rectal examinations, it is recommended annually by the American Cancer Society. PSA screening has resulted in a significant stage migration in the past decades.

Open Versus Laparoscopic Versus Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy: The European and US Experience.

Open radical prostatectomy (ORP) is the reference standard for the surgical management of localized prostate cancer. With wider availability of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy techniques, there is a debate regarding the standard treatment of the management of localized prostate cancer. Therefore, we reviewed the current status of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) and robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) as compared with ORP.

Gene polymorphisms and prostate cancer: the evidence.

Objective: Prostate cancer is still the most frequent noncutaneous male malignancy and is the second most common cause of cancer death. Genetic factors have been extensively studied in different countries. In addition, numerous genome-wide association studies have been performed in developed countries.

Screening for Prostate Cancer: A Review of the ERSPC and PLCO Trials.

The advent of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in the early 1980s revolutionized the diagnosis of prostate cancer. As a result of PSA testing, there has been a surge in the number of prostate cancer diagnoses. This review examines the results of 2 recent landmark trials that studied the effect of screening on prostate cancer mortality: the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) and the US-based Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial.