Factors Related to Maternal Adverse Outcomes in Pregnant Women with Cardiac Disease in Low-resource Settings

Background: Cardiac disease is an important life-threatening complication during pregnancy. It is frequently seen in pregnant women living in resource-limited areas and often results in premature death. Aim: The aim of this hospital-based longitudinal study was to identify factors related to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with cardiac disease in low-resource settings. Methods: The study enrolled 91 pregnant women with congenital or acquired cardiac disease over a period of 2 years in Kenya. Results: Maternal and early neonatal deaths occurred in 12.2% and 12.6% of cases, respectively. The risk of adverse outcomes was significantly increased in those with pulmonary oedema (OR 11, 95% CI [2.3–52]; p=0.002) and arrhythmias (OR 16.9, 95% CI [2.5–113]; p=0.004). Limited access to care was significantly associated with adverse maternal outcomes (p≤0.001). Conclusion: Many factors contribute to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with cardiac disease. Access to comprehensive specialised care may help reduce cardiac-related complications during pregnancy

Novel biomarkers with promising benefits for diagnosis of cervical neoplasia: a systematic review

Background; Cervical cancer screening is slowly transitioning from Pappanicolaou cytologic screening to primary Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) or HPV testing as an effort to enhance early detection and treatment. However, an effective triage tests needed to decide who among the VIA or HPV positive women should receive further diagnostic evaluation to avoid unnecessary colposcopy referrals is still lacking. Evidence from experimental studies have shown potential usefulness of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen (SCC Ag), Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (M-CSF), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), MicroRNA, p16INKa / ki-67, HPV E6/E7/mRNA, and DNA methylation biomarkers in detecting premalignant cervical neoplasia. Given the variation in performance, and scanty review studies in this field, this systematic review described the diagnostic performance of some selected assays to detect high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+) with histology as gold standard. Methods; We systematically searched articles published in English between 2012 and 2020 using key words from PubMed/Medline and SCOPUS with two reviewers assessing study eligibility, and risk of bias. We performed a descriptive presentation of the performance of each of the selected assays for the detection of CIN2 + . Results; Out of 298 citations retrieved, 58 articles were included. Participants with cervical histology yielded CIN2+ proportion range of 13.7–88.4%. The diagnostic performance of the assays to detect CIN2+ was; 1) SCC-Ag: range sensitivity of 78.6–81.2%, specificity 74–100%. 2) M-CSF: sensitivity of 68–87.7%, specificity 64.7–94% 3) VEGF: sensitivity of 56–83.5%, specificity 74.6–96%. 4) MicroRNA: sensitivity of 52.9–67.3%, specificity 76.4–94.4%. 5) p16INKa / ki-67: sensitivity of 50–100%, specificity 39–90.4%. 6) HPV E6/E7/mRNA: sensitivity of 65–100%, specificity 42.7–90.2%, and 7) DNA methylation: sensitivity of 59.7–92.9%, specificity 67–98%. Conclusion; Overall, the reported test performance and the receiving operating characteristics curves implies that implementation of p16ink4a/ki-67 assay as a triage for HPV positive women to be used at one visit with subsequent cryotherapy treatment is feasible. For the rest of assays, more robust clinical translation studies with larger consecutive cohorts of women participants is recommended

Use of Palliative Cisplatinum for Advanced Cervical Cancer in a Resource-Poor Setting: A Case Series From Kenya

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of cisplatinum for palliative treatment of advanced cervical cancer in a resource-poor setting. Methods: An observational case series is reported from a university teaching hospital in Kenya. All women presenting with advanced cervical cancer and planned for palliative cisplatinum therapy from 2010 to 2014 were included. Women were treated with cisplatinum 50 mg/m2 every 4 weeks in an outpatient setting. Data on tumor stage and symptoms control were prospectively collected in an electronic database. The main outcome measure was control of symptoms such as bleeding, discharge, and pain. Results: Of the women who originally presented with bleeding, 62% reported improvement in this symptom, 31.3% reported the bleeding completely stopped, 58% had improvement of their vaginal discharge, and 20.5% reported complete resolution. Of the women who presented with pain, 54% reported improvement; 30.9% reported pain had completely resolved. After each treatment cycle, approximately 30% of patients did not return for their next treatment. Conclusion: Cisplatinum as palliative treatment of advanced cervical cancer is feasible in a resource-poor setting and leads to effective symptom control. However, unknown barriers may inhibit women from returning for regular treatment

Use of Palliative Cisplatinum for Advanced Cervical Cancer in a Resource-Poor Setting: A Case Series From Kenya

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of cisplatinum for palliative treatment of advanced cervical cancer in a resource-poor setting. Methods: An observational case series is reported from a university teaching hospital in Kenya. All women presenting with advanced cervical cancer and planned for palliative cisplatinum therapy from 2010 to 2014 were included. Women were treated with cisplatinum 50 mg/m2 every 4 weeks in an outpatient setting. Data on tumor stage and symptoms control were prospectively collected in an electronic database. The main outcome measure was control of symptoms such as bleeding, discharge, and pain. Results: Of the women who originally presented with bleeding, 62% reported improvement in this symptom, 31.3% reported the bleeding completely stopped, 58% had improvement of their vaginal discharge, and 20.5% reported complete resolution. Of the women who presented with pain, 54% reported improvement; 30.9% reported pain had completely resolved. After each treatment cycle, approximately 30% of patients did not return for their next treatment. Conclusion: Cisplatinum as palliative treatment of advanced cervical cancer is feasible in a resource-poor setting and leads to effective symptom control. However, unknown barriers may inhibit women from returning for regular treatment

Novel concepts in cervical cancer screening: a comparison of VIA, HPV DNA test and p16INK4a/Ki-67 dual stain cytology in Western Kenya

Background: Screening of unvaccinated women remains essential to mitigate the high morbidity/mortality of cervical cancer. Here, we compared visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), recommended by WHO as the most cost-effective screening approach in LMICs, with HPV-based screening, and usage of p16INK4a/Ki-67 dual stain cytology. Methods: We prospectively enrolled women participating in a VIA-based cervical cancer screening program in two peri-urban health centers of Kenya. Consenting women had a VIA examination preceded by collection of a liquid-based cytology sample from the cervix stored in PreservCyt medium (Hologic®). Analysis of all samples included a hrHPV DNA test and evaluation of a p16INK4a /Ki-67 (CINtecPLUS®) dual stained slide that was prepared using the ThinPrep® 2000 Processor and evaluated by a pathologist trained in the methodology. Results: In 701 of a total of 800 women aged 18–64 years, all three investigations were performed and data could be analyzed. The HPV, VIA and dual stain cytology positivity were 33%, 7%, and 2% respectively. The HPV positivity rate of VIA positive cases was 32%. The five most common HPV types were HPV16, 52, 68, 58 and 35. The OR among HIV infected women of an HPV infection, VIA positivity and positive dual stain cytology were 2.6 (95%CI 1.5–4.3), 1.9 (95%CI 0.89–4.4) and 3.4 (95%CI 1.07–10.9) respectively. The sensitivity of VIA to detect a p16INK4a/Ki-67 positive transforming infection was 13% (95%CI 2–38). Conclusions: Primary HPV testing appears feasible and should be considered as a primary screening test also in LMICs. The poor sensitivity of VIA renders it unsuitable as a triage test for HPV positive women. The utility of p16INK4a/Ki-67 dual stain cytology as a triage test for HPV positive women in LMICs should be further studied

Knowledge about cervical cancer screening.

<p>Knowledge about cervical cancer screening.</p

Factors associated with uptake of cervical cancer screening in multivariate model.

<p>Factors associated with uptake of cervical cancer screening in multivariate model.</p

Symptoms of cervical cancer.

<p>Symptoms of cervical cancer.</p