A Clinical Risk Model to Predict Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries in Laboring Patients.

Objective: Our objective was to develop a risk stratification tool for predicting obstetric anal sphincter injury risk in women during labor.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study of singleton deliveries within Kaiser Permanente Northern California, a predictive model for anal sphincter injury was developed within the 2013 birth cohort and validated in the 2014 birth cohort of 22,741 births. Predictors of obstetric anal sphincter injury were identified using multiple regression analysis and used to create a risk calculator tool based on effect size and clinical judgment.

Risk Factors for the Development of Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries in Modern Obstetric Practice.

Objective: To characterize the rate of obstetric anal sphincter injuries and identify key risk factors of obstetric anal sphincter injuries, including duration of the second stage of labor.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all singleton, term, cephalic vaginal deliveries within Kaiser Permanente Northern California between January 2013 and December 2014 (N=22,741). Incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries, defined as third- or fourth-degree perineal lacerations, was the primary outcome.

Achieving higher-value obstetrical care.

Obstetrical care in the United States is unnecessarily costly. Birth is 1 of the most common reasons for healthcare use in the United States and 1 of the top expenditures for payers every year. However, compared with other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, the United States spends substantially more money per birth without better outcomes.

Association of cervical biopsy with HIV type 1 genital shedding among women on highly active antiretroviral therapy.

HIV-1 genital shedding is associated with increased HIV-1 transmission risk. Inflammation and ulceration are associated with increased shedding, while highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been shown to have a protective effect. We sought to examine the impact of cervical biopsies, a routine component of cervical cancer screening, on HIV-1 genital RNA levels in HIV-infected women on HAART.

Direct questioning is more effective than patient-initiated report for the detection of sexually transmitted infections in a primary care HIV clinic in Western Kenya.

In resource-limited settings, detection of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) often relies on self-reported symptoms to initiate management. We found self-report demonstrated poor sensitivity for STI detection. Adding clinician-initiated questions about symptoms improved detection rates.

Sleep endoscopy as a diagnostic tool in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

Objectives: Ten to twenty percent of children have persistent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) after adenotonsillectomy (T&A). We hypothesize that sleep endoscopy, a flexible fiberoptic examination of the pharynx under anesthesia, is an effective tool for identifying sites of persistent obstruction.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed records of children who had symptoms consistent with OSA and a positive polysomnogram (PSG) who underwent sleep endoscopy followed by sleep endoscopy directed surgery.

Loop electrosurgical excision procedure: safety and tolerability among human immunodeficiency virus-positive Kenyan women.

Objectives: To estimate the safety, tolerability, and acceptability of loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2 or 3) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women performed by nonphysician health care providers in an HIV care and treatment clinic.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study among women undergoing LEEP for biopsy-confirmed CIN 2 or 3 at the Family Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Care and Education Services Clinic in Kisumu, Kenya. Women were followed-up 4 weeks after the procedure and questioned for abstinence as well as presence and severity of side effects after the procedure.

Mapping of deletion and translocation breakpoints in 1q44 implicates the serine/threonine kinase AKT3 in postnatal microcephaly and agenesis of the corpus callosum.

Deletions of chromosome 1q42-q44 have been reported in a variety of developmental abnormalities of the brain, including microcephaly (MIC) and agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC). Here, we describe detailed mapping studies of patients with unbalanced structural rearrangements of distal 1q4. These define a 3.