Management of recurrent urinary tract infections in adults

Many women will experience one or more urinary tract infection (UTI) during their life. The most unfortunate will have many. Men presenting with infections, and women with recurrent episodes, require further investigation. A diagnosis of a UTI is often based on a typical spectrum of symptoms, with confirmatory urine cultures lagging a few days behind. Unfortunately, symptoms of a UTI may not be typical, and other conditions can manifest similarly. Treatment of UTI with antibiotics is usually required, but there is increasing awareness of the need for antimicrobial stewardship to avoid the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, even as patients are increasingly reluctant to take them. Recurrent UTI can cause significant morbidity and disruption to daily activities yet investigations rarely demonstrate a reversible cause. There are a host of different antibiotic and non-antibiotic interventions that aim to lower the risk of further infections. However, these are not reliably effective, bring side effects of their own and are often proposed to this desperate population of patients on the back of weak evidence of efficacy.     

Ospemifene plus fractional CO2 laser: a powerful strategy to treat postmenopausal vulvar pain

Abstract

This study is a single-center, retrospective analysis of postmenopausal women presenting with dyspareunia and vulvar pain, aiming to evaluate relative effectiveness of vestibular CO₂ laser therapy as a treatment. Three monthly sessions of laser were performed to each patient and thereafter a three-months follow-up was stablished. A total number of 72 patients undergoing vestibular laser treatment were recruited from patient files in the period between 2016 and 2018. Among these, 39 women also received a concomitant treatment with ospemifene (60?mg/day) during the study period. There was a statistically significant reduction of all the symptoms in both groups up to the three month follow-up. Regarding dryness and dyspareunia, the relief tent to be more prominent in the ospemifene?+?laser group at all follow-ups and remained statistically significant at three-month follow-up. Specifically, vestibular dryness was significantly lower in the ospemifene?+?laser group compared with the laser treatment group (?87% vs???34%, respectively), and the vestibular health score started declining faster in the ospemifene?+?laser group. Although, additional research is needed to understand the mechanism of action, our data shows that a combination regimen of laser and ospemifene may improve clinical effectiveness for long-term treatment of symptoms associated with the under-recognized genitourinary syndrome of menopause.     

探讨绝经过渡期、育龄子宫肌瘤患者异常阴道出血相关因素分析

目的: 探讨育龄、绝经过渡期子宫肌瘤患者异常阴道出血危险因素，为异常阴道出血临床精准诊断、治疗提供理论依据。方法： 选取2017年06月—2020年06月于内蒙古医科大学附属医院住院行手术治疗的子宫肌瘤患者。实验组设为非月经期异常阴道出血的子宫肌瘤患者，对照组为无异常阴道流血子宫肌瘤患者。根据第9版教科书年龄18-43岁定为育龄组；44-54岁定为绝经过渡期组（我国妇女平均绝经年龄为49.5岁，80%在44-54岁之间〔1〕）。 应用Excel双录入，核对无误后进行统计分析。计数资料的比较用R×C列联表卡方检验、四格表卡方检验及两独立样本秩和检验。非条件Logistic回归模型用于子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血危险因素的分析，并分别得到OR值与相应95%的可信区间。在此模型中，OR值＞1认为是危险因素，OR值＜1认为是保护因素。统计学显著性水平设定为双侧p≤0.05，即认为差异有统计学意义。全部统计分析选用SPSS19.0软件进行统计学分析。结果：1.将与子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血相关的33项临床指标纳入单因素分析得出，月经周期异常、肌瘤位置（子宫颈肌瘤）、肌瘤直径≥9cm、血红蛋白异常、子宫内膜癌、核分裂像＞5个差异有统计学意义（P≤0.05），均是子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血的危险因素；2.子宫肌瘤异常阴道出血核分裂像＞5个与子宫内膜病理性改变和异常阴道出血差异有统计学意义（P=0.019）。结论：1. 子宫内膜发生病理改变是子宫肌瘤患者引起异常阴道出血的原因之一。2.月经周期异常、子宫颈肌瘤、肌瘤直径≥9cm、血红蛋白异常、子宫内膜病理改变均是子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血的危险因素；子宫肌瘤核分裂像＞5个是子宫平滑肌瘤出现异常阴道出血的独立高危因素；3.子宫肌瘤核分裂像＞5与阴道出血、子宫内膜病理改变有统计学意义。进行单因素分析后得知，月经周期、肌瘤位置、肌瘤大小、血红蛋白、子宫内膜病理变化均子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血的发生有关。 关键词育龄；绝经过渡期；子宫平滑肌瘤；异常阴道出血；危险因素     

Clinical and histopathologic factors related to prognosis in primary squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina

The goal of this retrospective study concerning primary carcinoma of the vagina (PCV) was to analyze clinical and histopathologic prognostic factors in one of the largest known material, which comprised 314 patients. PCV is a rare disease, and the majority of published studies are based on small materials; therefore, the established knowledge concerning prognostic factors is insufficient. Routine treatment is based on irradiation with risk for undertreatment or overtreatment, which leads to unnecessary complications in the absence of prognostic factors. The overall 5-year disease-specific survival rate in this study was 45% and in stage I 75%. In the univariate statistical analysis, several factors correlated significantly with disease-specific survival. However, in the multivariate analysis, there were only three factors that independently could predict poor survival-high age at diagnosis, large tumors (> or =4 cm), and advanced stage. Common background factors with no prognostic significance were prior hysterectomy, other gynecological malignancies, and pelvic irradiation. In conclusion, this study has elucidated three strong prognostic factors that might be considered in the choice of therapy and also for modification of the FIGO guidelines. Increased knowledge concerning complementary biologic markers to discriminate between low- and high malignant tumors is however of great importance.     

Vaginal stenosis in patients treated with radiotherapy for carcinoma of the cervix

The aim of our study was to determine the incidence, timing, and severity of vaginal stenosis in patients with carcinoma of the cervix who had received pelvic and/or vaginal radiotherapy as part of their treatment. We also sought to determine if there were any predisposing factors for the development of stenosis. A retrospective chart review was undertaken for all the patients diagnosed with carcinoma of the cervix between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2000 and treated with pelvic and/or vaginal radiation at Westmead Hospital. Since January 1, 1990, data regarding vaginal stenosis has been prospectively recorded on all the patients. Data collected included patient demographics, stage of disease, treatments administered, and incidence, timing, and severity of vaginal stenosis. One hundred and eighty-eight patients were treated. Mean age was 58.6 years. Thirteen percent of patients had stage IB disease, 45% had stage II disease, 39.5% had stage III disease, and 1.5% had stage IV disease. One hundred and seventy-nine patients returned for follow-up, and data regarding vaginal toxicity were available in 98%. Twenty-seven percent had grade 1 toxicity (partial stenosis or shortening but not complete occlusion), and 11% had grade 2 (complete occlusion). Stenosis of any grade was noted at a mean of 9.6 months and median of 7.5 months (range, 26 days-5.6 years) from completion of treatment. The only prognostic factor associated with increased risk of stenosis was age greater than 50 years (odds ratio 2.26). Vaginal stenosis is a common complication of pelvic and vaginal radiotherapy, occurring in 38% of patients. Stenosis occurs most often in the first year after treatment. Patients over the age of 50 are most at risk.     

药物传递系统（DDS）Ⅳ腔道给药传递系统

腔道给药是能起全身作用、避开肝首过代谢作用、患者便于自用的非损伤性给药途径。本文着重介绍影响鼻腔、阴道给药药物吸收的生物因素和剂型因素及正在开发的腔道给药传递系统。     

Cytomorphometric analysis of vaginal cells during normal cycle, under oral contraceptive therapy or in-vitro fertilization stimulation protocol

A cytomorphometric analysis of superficial vaginal cells inwomen in three groups of different types of hormonal concentrationwas made. There were 15 women in each group. Group I was studiedduring a natural cycle, group II under oral contraceptive therapyand group III during an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) stimulationprotocol. Morphometric parameters were measured on an imageanalyser. The area, perimeter and several form factors weremeasured separately for nuclei and cytoplasm. The nucleus:cytoplasmicratio was also determined. The cytoplasmic area was significantlyreduced in group II and was associated with a statisticallysignificant reduction of the nuclear area. The nucleus:cytoplasmicratio appeared significantly increased in group II and reducedin group III. Low oestradiol impregnation obtained with an oralminidosed contraceptive interfered with vaginal cell maturation.High oestradiol concentrations obtained during IVF protocolsinduced marked nuclear pycnosis but did not induce supra-physiologicalcell enlargement. Maximal cell size is genetically regulatedaccording to Driesch's law of volume invariance and hormonalover-stimulation has no effect on cell size. The nucleus:cytoplasmicratio appears to be a powerful parameter reflecting the oppositeeffects of hormones on cell compartments.     

Differential Stripping: Determination of the Amount of Topically Applied Substances Penetrated into the Hair Follicles

The determination of penetration pathways of topically applied substances into the skin is the subject of several investigations. Recently, follicular penetration has become a major focus of interest. To date, a direct, non-invasive quantification of the amount of topically applied substance penetrated into the follicles had not been possible. The development of such a method was the aim of this study. Therefore, the advantages of both stripping techniques, tape stripping and cyanoacrylate skin surface biopsy, were combined and evaluated. Tape stripping was used to remove the part of the stratum corneum that contained the topically applied dye. Subsequently, the follicular contents were ripped off by cyanoacrylate skin surface biopsy. The combined method termed "differential stripping" was evaluated in vitro and in vivo , and the amount of topically applied fluorescent dye penetrated into the hair follicles was quantified after different penetration times. After 30 min, 5% of the recovered concentration of sodium fluorescein was found in the follicular infundibula, where it was still detectable after 48 h. Altogether, the results of this investigation revealed that differential stripping is a new method that can be used to study the penetration of topically applied substances into the follicular infundibula non-invasively and selectively.