Nursing home (NH) residents and staff have been severely affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to examine the use of weekly saliva RT‐qPCR testing for SARS‐CoV‐2 detection among NH workers as a strategy to control disease transmission within NHs in Belgium. From 16 November to 27 December 2020, a voluntary and anonymous weekly screening was implemented in a cohort of 50,000 workers across 572 NHs in the Walloon region of Belgium to detect asymptomatic cases of SARS‐CoV‐2 via saliva RT‐qPCR testing and using the Diagenode saliva sample collection device. Positive workers were isolated to avoid subsequent infections in residents and other staff. RT‐qPCR testing was based on pooled saliva sampling techniques from three workers, followed by individual testing of each positive or inconclusive pool. The majority of NHs (85%) and 55% of their workers participated. Pooling did not affect sensitivity as it only induced a very decrease in sensitivity estimated as 0.33%. Significant decreases in the prevalence (34.4–13.4%) and incidence of NHs with either single (13.8–2%) or multiple positive workers (3.7–0%) were observed over time. In addition, deaths among NH residents and NH worker absences decreased significantly over time. Weekly saliva RT‐qPCR testing for SARS‐CoV‐2 demonstrated large‐scale feasibility and efficacy in disrupting the chain of transmission. Implementation of this testing strategy in NHs could also be extended to other settings with the aim to control viral transmission for maintaining essential activities.
Objective: Review the menstrual and obstetric outcomes among Asherman syndrome patients when stratified by disease severity. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: A community teaching hospital affiliated with a large academic medical center. Patients: A total of 355 Asherman syndrome patients stratified by March classification who underwent hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. Interventions: Telephone survey, analyzed with multivariable analysis. Main Outcome Measures: Return of menstruation. Pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth rate. Results: A total of 355 patients underwent hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. Of these, 150 (42.3%) patients completed the telephone survey with a mean follow-up of 2.21 years. Additionally, 40.7% had mild, 52.7% had moderate, and 6.6% had severe disease. Furthermore, 25.3% of patients reported amenorrhea at presentation, with mild disease patients having the highest rate of returning menstruation (93.8%) following treatment. The cumulative pregnancy rate was 81.9%, and the cumulative live birth rate was 51.2%, with no statistical differences identified by the classification group. Conclusion: Asherman syndrome disease severity predicted returning menstruation but not pregnancy or live birth rate. (Fertil Steril Rep Ò 2021;2:118-25. Ó2021 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
The levonorgestrel intrauterine releasing system is a contraceptive that has been shown to reduce menstrual blood loss dramatically. Breakthrough bleeding, however, is a relatively common occurrence as with all methods of progestogen-only contraception and this limits its acceptability for women. Amenorrhoea can be achieved in the majority of women within 12 months of insertion. Any new pattern of bleeding after amenorrhoea or a persistence of heavy bleeding may be due to co-existing intrauterine pathology such as endometrial polyps. The use of out-patient techniques such as hysteroscopy and saline infusion sonography are indicated in these instances to exclude other intrauterine pathology.
STUDY QUESTION Is there an association between endometrial thickness (EMT) measurement and clinical pregnancy rate among Asherman syndrome (AS) patients utilizing IVF and embryo transfer (ET)? SUMMARY ANSWER EMT measurements may not be associated with successful clinical pregnancy among AS patients undergoing IVF. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Clinical pregnancy rate after IVF is significantly lower in patients with a thin endometrium, defined as a maximum EMT of <7 mm. However, AS patients often have a thin EMT measurement due to intrauterine scarring, with a paucity of data and no guidance on what EMT cutoff is appropriate when planning an ET among these patients. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This is a retrospective cohort study of 45 AS patients treated at a specialized advanced hysteroscopic clinic from 1 January 2015, to 1 March 2019. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Review of EMT measurements prior to a total of 90 ETs, among 45 AS patients. The impact of the maximum EMT measurement prior to ET on clinical pregnancy rate was analyzed. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE A total of 25/45 (55.6%) AS patients ultimately went on to have ≥1 clinical pregnancy following a mean ± SD of 2.00 ± 1.26 ET attempts. There was a total of 90 ETs among the 45 AS patients, with 29/90 (32.2%) ETs resulting in a clinical pregnancy. Younger patient age (P = 0.05) and oocyte donation (P = 0.01) were the only variables identified to be significant predictors for a positive clinical pregnancy outcome on bivariate analysis. The mean EMT measurement prior to all ETs among AS patients was 7.5 ± 1.6 mm. EMT measurement prior to ET did not predict a positive clinical pregnancy on either bivariate (P = 0.84) or multivariable analysis (odds ratio 0.91, P = 0.60). 31.8% of EMT measurements measured <7.0 mm. In this small cohort, no difference in the clinical pregnancy rate was detected when comparing ETs with EMT measurements of <7.0 mm versus ≥7.0 mm (P = 0.83). The mean EMT measurement decreased with increasing AS disease severity; 8.0 ± 1.6 mm for mild disease, 7.0 ± 1.4 mm for moderate disease and 5.4 ± 0.1 mm for severe disease. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Our small sample size limits our ability to draw any definitive conclusions. In addition, patients utilized various infertility clinics. This limits our ability to evaluate the consistency of EMT measurements and the IVF care that was received. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS EMT measurement cutoff values should be used with caution if canceling a scheduled ET in AS patients. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was not funded. K.I. reports personal fees from Karl Stroz and personal fees from Medtronics outside the submitted work. The other authors have no conflicts of interest. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A.
To characterize obstetric outcomes for concomitant Asherman syndrome and adenomyosis. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: A community teaching hospital affiliated with a large academic medical center. Patients: A total of 227 patients with Asherman syndrome with available hysteroscopy and pelvic ultrasound reports. Interventions: Telephone survey to assess and compare the obstetric outcomes of patients with Asherman syndrome with concomitant adenomyosis (Group A) vs patients with Asherman syndrome without concomitant adenomyosis (Group B). Measurements and Main Results: A telephone survey and confirmatory chart review were conducted to obtain information on patients' demographics, gynecologic and obstetric history, past medical and surgical history, and Asherman syndrome management. Adenomyosis was a common sonographic finding, detected in 39 patients with Asherman syndrome (17.2%). In this cohort, 77 patients attempted pregnancy and produced 87 pregnancies. Age (odds ratio [OR] 0.67; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.52−0.86) was negatively associated with a pregnancy outcome. Age (OR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73−0.95) and severe Asherman disease (OR 0.06; 95% CI, <0.01−0.99) were negatively associated with a live birth outcome. Adenomyosis was not an independent predictor of pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, or live birth rate among patients with Asherman syndrome. Conclusion: Adenomyosis is relatively common in patients with Asherman syndrome. Adenomyosis does not seem to add any distinct detriment to fertility among patients with Asherman syndrome.
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