Ectopic pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy, defined as the implantation of a developing pregnancy outside of the endometrial cavity of the uterus, is the leading cause of early-pregnancy maternal mortality. The majority of ectopic pregnancies implant in a fallopian tube. Acute complications may include rupture of the fallopian tube or rupture of ectopic pregnancy, haemorrhage and hypovolaemic shock, or occur secondary to treatments such as emergency surgery or blood transfusions, and ultimately increase the risk of maternal death.

Tubal flushing with oil-based contrast during hysterosalpingography versus tubal flushing by hysterosalpingo-foam sonography in infertile women undergoing fertility work-up: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial (FOil study).

Introduction: Hysterosalpingography (HSG) and hysterosalpingo-foam sonography (HyFoSy) are commonly used tubal patency tests during the fertility work-up. Besides its diagnostic purpose, HSG with oil-based contrast can also be applied for its fertility-enhancing effect, by tubal flushing. HyFoSy is considered as less painful compared with HSG, it lacks exposure to iodinated contrast medium and ionising radiation.

Women's preferences for caesarean or vaginal birth with a perspective of future fertility: A discrete choice experiment.

Objective: To investigate pregnant women's preferences for risks of vaginal and caesarean birth, including possible impacts on future fertility.

Methods: In this discrete choice experiment, low-risk nulliparous pregnant women recruited after 28 weeks of gestation evaluated eight choice sets, each between two different hypothetical births scenarios which intermixed the risks of planned caesarean or vaginal birth. Scenarios consisted of six attributes: pain, maternal health, neonatal health, risk of unplanned intervention, impact on fertility and risk of complications in the next pregnancy.

Cumulative live birth rate of a blastocyst versus cleavage stage embryo transfer policy during in vitro fertilisation in women with a good prognosis: multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate whether embryo transfers at blastocyst stage improve the cumulative live birth rate after oocyte retrieval, including both fresh and frozen-thawed transfers, and whether the risk of obstetric and perinatal complications is increased compared with cleavage stage embryo transfers during in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

Design: Multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Setting: 21 hospitals and clinics in the Netherlands, 18 August 2018 to 17 December 2021.

A survey of experts to identify methods to detect problematic studies: stage 1 of the INveStigating ProblEmatic Clinical Trials in Systematic Reviews project.

Background And Objective: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) inform health-care decisions. Unfortunately, some published RCTs contain false data, and some appear to have been entirely fabricated. Systematic reviews are performed to identify and synthesize all RCTs which have been conducted on a given topic.

The effect of prior hysterosalpingo-foam sonography or hysterosalpingography on tubal patency: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Study Question: Does hysterosalpingo-foam sonography (HyFoSy) prior to hysterosalpingography (HSG) or HSG prior to HyFoSy affect visible tubal patency when compared HSG or HyFoSy alone?

Summary Answer: Undergoing either HyFoSy or HSG prior to tubal patency testing by the alternative method does not demonstrate a significant difference in visible tubal patency when compared to HyFoSy or HSG alone.

What Is Known Already: HyFoSy and HSG are two commonly used visual tubal patency tests with a high and comparable diagnostic accuracy for evaluating tubal patency. These tests may also improve fertility, although the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood.

Atosiban versus placebo in the treatment of threatened preterm birth between 30 and 34 weeks gestation: study protocol of the 4-year APOSTEL 8 follow-up.

Introduction: Currently, the majority of women worldwide with threatened preterm birth are treated with tocolytics. Although tocolytics can effectively delay birth for 48 hours, no tocolytic drug has convincingly been shown to improve neonatal outcomes and effects on long-term child development are unknown. The aim of this follow-up study of a placebo controlled randomised trial is to investigate the long-term effects of atosiban administration in case of threatened preterm birth on child's neurodevelopment and behaviour development, overall health and mortality.

[Not all published data are reliable: fabricated data in medical research].

For a long time, the reliability of medical-scientific research was, without further verification, based on real data. It is becoming increasingly clear that this assumption is unjustified and that probably at least 25% of published randomized clinical trials are based on unreliable and sometimes even fabricated data. After giving a number of examples, it is discussed what the reader can do about this problem.

Data integrity of 14 randomised controlled trials.

Background: A review of the literature on iron treatments for iron-deficient anaemia in pregnancy indicated duplication of baseline and outcome tables in two separate randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that share only a single author.

Aim: To assess the integrity of randomised clinical trials from Dr A.M.

Hysterosalpingo-foam sonography versus hysterosalpingography during fertility work-up: an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial.

Study Question: What are the costs and effects of tubal patency testing by hysterosalpingo-foam sonography (HyFoSy) compared to hysterosalpingography (HSG) in infertile women during the fertility work-up?

Summary Answer: During the fertility work-up, clinical management based on the test results of HyFoSy leads to slightly lower, though not statistically significant, live birth rates, at lower costs, compared to management based on HSG results.

What Is Known Already: Traditionally, tubal patency testing during the fertility work-up is performed by HSG. The FOAM trial, formally a non-inferiority study, showed that management decisions based on the results of HyFoSy resulted in a comparable live birth rate at 12 months compared to HSG (46% versus 47%; difference -1.

Mixed models for repetitive measurements: the basics.

Linear mixed models are regularly used within the field of reproductive medicine. This manuscript explains the basics of mixed models, when they could be used, and how they could be applied.

A survey of experts to identify methods to detect problematic studies: Stage 1 of the INSPECT-SR Project.

Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) inform healthcare decisions. Unfortunately, some published RCTs contain false data, and some appear to have been entirely fabricated. Systematic reviews are performed to identify and synthesise all RCTs which have been conducted on a given topic.

Effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To assess the effects of COVID-19 vaccines in women before or during pregnancy on SARS-CoV-2 infection-related, pregnancy, offspring and reactogenicity outcomes.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Major databases between December 2019 and January 2023.

Protocol for the development of a tool (INSPECT-SR) to identify problematic randomised controlled trials in systematic reviews of health interventions.

Introduction: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) inform healthcare decisions. It is now apparent that some published RCTs contain false data and some appear to have been entirely fabricated. Systematic reviews are performed to identify and synthesise all RCTs that have been conducted on a given topic.

Driving factors in treatment decision-making of patients seeking medical assistance for infertility: a systematic review.

Background: ART differs in effectiveness, side-effects, administration, and costs. To improve the decision-making process, we need to understand what factors patients consider to be most important.

Objective And Rationale: We conducted this systematic review to assess which aspects of ART treatment (effectiveness, safety, burden, costs, patient-centeredness, and genetic parenthood) are most important in the decision-making of patients with an unfulfilled wish to have a child.

Favorable culture conditions for spermatogonial propagation in human and non-human primate primary testicular cell cultures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Autologous transplantation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) isolated from cryopreserved testicular biopsies obtained before oncological treatment could restore fertility in male childhood cancer survivors. There is a clear necessity for propagation of the limited SSCs from the testicular biopsy prior to transplantation due to limited numbers of spermatogonia in a cryopreserved testicular biopsy. Still, there is no consensus regarding their optimal culture method.

IVF versus IUI with ovarian stimulation for unexplained infertility: a collaborative individual participant data meta-analysis.

Background: IVF and IUI with ovarian stimulation (IUI-OS) are widely used in managing unexplained infertility. IUI-OS is generally considered first-line therapy, followed by IVF only if IUI-OS is unsuccessful after several attempts. However, there is a growing interest in using IVF for immediate treatment because it is believed to lead to higher live birth rates and shorter time to pregnancy.

Protocol for the development of a tool (INSPECT-SR) to identify problematic randomised controlled trials in systematic reviews of health interventions.

Introduction: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) inform healthcare decisions. It is now apparent that some published RCTs contain false data and some appear to have been entirely fabricated. Systematic reviews are performed to identify and synthesise all RCTs that have been conducted on a given topic.

Series of overviews on miscarriage and recurrent miscarriage.

Miscarriage is a relatively common occurrence with many knowns and unknowns and a profound psychological impact on individuals and couples. The editors felt it was time to publish a series of overviews for Views and Reviews on both sporadic miscarriage and recurrent miscarriage. The series starts with the prevalence of miscarriage and recurrent miscarriage and subsequently describes the psychological impact, what we know of the genetics, whether uterine natural killer cells may play a role, the association with infections, and potential interventions.