HPV Vaccine recommendations: does a health care provider’s gender and ethnicity matter to Unvaccinated Latina college women?

Objectives: There are disparities in the uptake of HPV vaccine among racial/ethnic minority women. The strongest predictor of HPV vaccine uptake among adult women is health care provider (HCP) recommendation; however, it is unclear how issues relating to race/ethnicity may mitigate these recommendations. Research shows that racial/ethnic and gender concordance between a patient and HCP can improve patient satisfaction, access and quality of care. If concordance contributes to improved patient-provider interactions, then it may be a factor in patient decisions regarding HPV vaccination. The objectives of this study were to (1) explore gender and ethnicity HCP preference regarding HPV vaccination among unvaccinated; and (2) understand factors associated with those preferences.

Design: Unvaccinated Latina college students (n?=?187) completed a survey that assessed HCP preferences, medical mistrust, cultural assimilation and HPV vaccine recommendation. Logistic regression models evaluated associations between above variables with HPV knowledge and preference for a female and/or Latina HCP.

Results: Most respondents had health insurance (71%), a regular HCP (64%), were US-born (67%), with foreign-born parents (74%). Thirty-four percent and 18% agreed that they would be more likely to get the HPV vaccine if the recommending HCP was female and Latino, respectively. Latina women reporting higher medical mistrust preferred a HPV vaccine recommendation from a Latino/a provider.

Conclusions: Latinas’ preferences regarding gender and ethnicity of their HCPs may affect patient-provider interactions. Increasing diversity and cultural awareness among HCPs, and providing linguistically and culturally-appropriate information may decrease patient-provider mistrust, increase uptake of the HPV vaccine, and decrease persistent cervical cancer disparities.     

Derivation and Validation of a Model to Predict 30-Day Readmission in Surgical Patients Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facility

ObjectivesTo identify factors associated with 30-day all-cause readmission rates in surgical patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and derive and validate a risk score.DesignRetrospective cohort.Setting and participantsPatients admitted to 1 tertiary hospital's surgical services between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2014 and subsequently discharged to 110 SNFs within a 25-mile radius of the hospital. The first 2 years were used for the derivation set and the last 2 for validation.MethodsData were collected on 30-day all cause readmissions, patient demographics, procedure and surgical service, comorbidities, laboratory tests, and prior health care utilization. Multivariate regression was used to identify risk factors for readmission.ResultsDuring the study period, 2405 surgical patients were discharged to 110 SNFs, and 519 (21.6%) of these patients experienced readmission within 30 days. In a multivariable regression model, hospital length of stay [odds ratio (OR) per day: 1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-1.04], number of hospitalizations in past year (OR 1.24 per hospitalization, 95% CI 1.18-1.31), nonelective surgery (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.18-1.65), low-risk service (orthopedic/spine service) (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.25-0.42), and intermediate-risk service (cardiothoracic surgery/urology/gynecology/ear, nose, throat) (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.53-0.88) were associated with all-cause readmissions. The model had a C index of 0.71 in the validation set. Using the following risk score [0.8 × (hospital length of stay) + 7 × (number of hospitalizations in past year) +10 for nonelective surgery, +36 for high-risk surgery, and +20 for intermediate-risk surgery], a score of >40 identified patients at high risk of 30-day readmission (35.8% vs 12.6%, P < .001).Conclusions/ImplicationsAmong surgical patients discharged to an SNF, a simple risk score with 4 parameters can accurately predict the risk of 30-day readmission.     

Novel intronic variant in PALB2 gene and effective prevention of Fanconi anemia in family

Familial Cancer - Despite the acceptance of NextGen sequencing as a diagnostic modality suitable for probands and carriers of Mendelian diseases, its efficiency in identifying causal mutations is...     

Use of Checklists in Reviews of Health Economic Evaluations, 2010 to 2018

Objective

It is useful for reviewers of economic evaluations to assess quality in a manner that is consistent and comprehensive. Checklists can allow this, but there are concerns about their reliability and how they are used in practice. We aimed to describe how checklists have been used in systematic reviews of health economic evaluations.

Endometriose in der Peri- und Postmenopause

Gynäkologische Endokrinologie -     

Free Bipedicled Radial Forearm and Posterior Interosseous Artery Perforator Flap Phalloplasty

IntroductionThe free radial forearm (FRFA) flap is universally still considered as the gold standard technique in penile reconstruction. Typically, a considerably large flap is required, often involving almost the entire circumference of the forearm. Partial necrosis may occur at the distal-most (dorsoradial) part of the flap as a result of insufficient perfusion.AimTo describe a new technique using the posterior interosseous artery (PIOA) to supercharge FRFA phalloplasty.MethodsIn a 12-month period, all patients having FRFA flap phalloplasty were enrolled. Perioperative, after complete flap dissection, an indocyanine green perfusion scan was performed. In case of insufficient perfusion at the distalmost part of the flap, a supramicrosurgical anastomosis was performed between the FRFA pedicle and the PIOA (artery only).Main Outcome MeasuresStudied outcomes included the rate of marginal necrosis, surgical time, postoperative posterior interosseous nerve damage and urethral complications (fistula, stenosis or necrosis).ResultsA total of 27 FRFA flap phalloplasties was performed. Anastomosis of the PIOA was needed in 15 cases. No marginal necrosis was observed in these cases. There were no cases of postoperative posterior interosseous nerve damage. There were no significant differences in urethral complications (fistula, stenosis or necrosis) between the 2 groups.Clinical ImplicationsIn selected cases where insufficient perfusion of the dorsoradial part of the flap is present, patients may benefit from arterial supercharging to prevent postoperative marginal necrosis.Strength & LimitationsStrengths include a single surgeon, thus lending continuity of skill and technique, a consecutive series, and 100% short-term follow-up. Limitations include single institution series and a limited number of patients.ConclusionArterial supercharging is effective in improving perfusion of large FRFA flaps used in phalloplasty when dorsoradial hypoperfusion is detected on an indocyanine green perfusion scan. It is a technically challenging addition to the standard technique because of the small size of the vessels, the close relationship between the PIOA and the posterior interosseous nerve, and the vulnerability of the newly constructed intra-flap anastomosis.De Wolf E, Claes K, Sommeling CE, et al. Free Bipedicled Radial Forearm and Posterior Interosseous Artery Perforator Flap Phalloplasty. J Sex Med 2019;16:1111–1117.     

Impact of postoperative radiotherapy on survival and loco-regional control in node-negative oral cavity tumours classified as T3 using the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual eighth edition

According to the eighth edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual (AJCC8), a depth of invasion (DOI) >10 mm is classified as pT3, representing a locally advanced tumour requiring postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). When node-negative, however, evidence regarding whether PORT improves loco-regional control or survival is unclear. To clarify this, two cohorts of patients were studied: (1) patients classified as pT3N0 by the seventh edition of the AJCC manual (AJCC7), with DOI >10 mm and a tumour diameter >4 cm (17 patients who received PORT), and (2) patients classified as pT1N0 and pT2N0 by AJCC7, with DOI >10 mm and a tumour diameter <4 cm (55 patients who did not receive PORT). Loco-regional control and survival were analysed. PORT was found not to impact overall survival or disease-free survival. It was also found not to impact local, regional, or distant recurrence. Although the two subsets of patients considered here (DOI >10 mm with tumour diameter below or above 4 cm) were previously distinct, they are both considered pT3 in AJCC8. Data from this study indicate that the routine administration of PORT to patients with a DOI >10 mm may not be warranted in the absence of other risk features such as nodal disease or close margins.