The prevalence of food allergy in cesarean-born children aged 0–3 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

PurposePrevious studies reported a higher risk of food allergy for cesarean-born children than vaginal-born children. This study aims to systematically compare the prevalence of food allergy among cesarean-born and vaginal-born children aged 0–3 years.MethodsThree English and two Chinese databases were searched using terms related to food allergies and cesarean sections. Cohort studies that reported the prevalence of food allergy in cesarean-born and vaginal-born children aged 0–3 years were included. Two reviewers performed study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction. The pooled prevalence of food allergy in cesarean-born and vaginal-born children was compared by meta-analysis.ResultsNine eligible studies, with 9,650 cesarean-born children and 20,418 vaginal-born children aged 0–3 years, were included. Of them, 645 cesarean-born children and 991 vaginal-born children were identified as having food allergies. The pooled prevalence of food allergy was higher in cesarean-born children (7.8%) than in vaginal-born children (5.9%). Cesarean section was associated with an increased risk of food allergy [odds ratio (OR): 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–2.05] and cow's milk allergy (OR: 3.31; 95% CI: 1.98–5.53). Additionally, cesarean-born children with a parental history of allergy had an increased risk of food allergy (OR: 2.60; 95% CI: 1.28–5.27).ConclusionThis study suggests that cesarean sections was associated with an increased risk of food and cow's milk allergies in children aged 0–3 years. Cesarean-born children with a parental history of allergy demonstrated a higher risk for food allergy than did vaginal-born children. These results indicate that caregivers should be aware of the risks of food allergies in cesarean-born children, reducing the risk of potentially fatal allergic events. Further research is needed to identify the specific factors affecting food allergies in young children.Systematic Review Registrationhttp://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (NO. CRD42019140748)

The Management of Uterine Leiomyomas

Objectives: The aim of this guideline is to provide clinicians with an understanding of the pathophysiology, prevalence, and clinical significance of myomata and the best evidence available on treatment modalities. Options: The areas of clinical practice considered in formulating this guideline were assessment, medical treatments, conservative treatments of myolysis, selective uterine artery occlusion, and surgical alternatives including myomectomy and hysterectomy. The risk-to-benefit ratio must be examined individually by the woman and her health care provider. Outcomes: Implementation of this guideline should optimize the decision-making process of women and their health care providers in proceeding with further investigation or therapy for uterine leiomyomas, having considered the disease process and available treatment options, and reviewed the risks and anticipated benefits. Evidence: Published literature was retrieved through searches of PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Systematic Reviews in February 2013, using appropriate controlled vocabulary (uterine fibroids, myoma, leiomyoma, myomectomy, myolysis, heavy menstrual bleeding, and menorrhagia) and key words (myoma, leiomyoma, fibroid, myomectomy, uterine artery embolization, hysterectomy, heavy menstrual bleeding, menorrhagia). The reference lists of articles identified were also searched for other relevant publications. Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized control trials/controlled clinical trials, and observational studies. There were no date limits but results were limited to English or French language materials. Searches were updated on a regular basis and incorporated in the guideline to January 2014. Grey (unpublished) literature was identified through searching the websites of health technology assessment and health technology-related agencies, clinical practice guideline collections, and national and international medical specialty societies. Benefits, Harms, and Costs: The majority of fibroids are asymptomatic and require no intervention or further investigations. For symptomatic fibroids such as those causing menstrual abnormalities (e.g. heavy, irregular, and prolonged uterine bleeding), iron defficiency anemia, or bulk symptoms (e.g., pelvic pressure/pain, obstructive symptoms), hysterectomy is a definitive solution. However, it is not the preferred solution for women who wish to preserve fertility and/or their uterus. The selected treatment should be directed towards an improvement in symptomatology and quality of life. The cost of the therapy to the health care system and to women with fibroids must be interpreted in the context of the cost of untreated disease conditions and the cost of ongoing or repeat investigative or treatment modalities. Values: The quality of evidence in this document was rated using the criteria described in the Report of the Caadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (Table 1)

Effectiveness of Telehealth Interventions for Women With Postpartum Depression: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundPostpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent mental health problem with serious adverse consequences for affected women and their infants. Clinical trials have found that telehealth interventions for women with PPD result in increased accessibility and improved treatment effectiveness. However, no comprehensive synthesis of evidence from clinical trials by systematic review has been conducted. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of telehealth interventions in reducing depressive symptoms and anxiety in women with PPD. To enhance the homogeneity and interpretability of the findings, this systematic review focuses on PPD measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, CNKI, and Wanfang were electronically searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of telehealth interventions for women with PPD from inception to February 28, 2021. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two researchers. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. ResultsFollowing the search, 9 RCTs with a total of 1958 women with PPD were included. The EPDS (mean difference=–2.99, 95% CI –4.52 to –1.46; P<.001) and anxiety (standardized mean difference=–0.39, 95% CI –0.67 to –0.12; P=.005) scores were significantly lower in the telehealth group compared with the control group. Significant subgroup differences were found in depressive symptoms according to the severity of PPD, telehealth technology, specific therapy, and follow-up time (P<.001). ConclusionsTelehealth interventions could effectively reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety in women with PPD. However, better designed and more rigorous large-scale RCTs targeting specific therapies are needed to further explore the potential of telehealth interventions for PPD. Trial RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42021258541; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=25854

Association between Surgeon/anesthesiologist Sex Discordance and One-year Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery

Objective: To investigate the association between surgeon-anesthesiologist sex discordance and patient mortality after noncardiac surgery. Summary Background Data: Evidence suggests different practice patterns exist amongst female and male physicians. However, the influence of physician sex on team-based practices in the operating room and subsequent patient outcomes remains unclear in the context of noncardiac surgery. Methods: We conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study of adult Ontario residents who underwent index, inpatient noncardiac surgery between January 2007 and December 2017. Primary exposure was physician sex discordance (i.e., surgeon and anesthesiologist were of the opposite sex). The primary outcome was 1-year mortality. The association between physician sex discordance and patient outcomes was modeled using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression with adjustment for relevant physician, patient, and hospital characteristics. Results: Of 541,209 patients, 158,084 (29.2%) were treated by sex-discordant physician teams. Physician sex discordance was associated with a lower rate of mortality at 1 year (5.2% vs. 5.7%; adjusted HR 0.95 [0.91-0.99]). Patients treated by teams composed of female surgeons and male anesthesiologists were more likely to be alive at 1 year than those treated by all-male physician teams (adjusted HR 0.90 [0.81-0.99]). Conclusions: Noncardiac surgery patients had a lower likelihood of 1-year mortality when treated by sex discordant surgeon-anesthesiologist teams. The likelihood of mortality was further reduced if the surgeon was female. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms of these observations and design strategies to diversify OR teams to optimize performance and patient outcomes

Non‐clinical interventions for reducing unnecessary caesarean section

Background: Caesarean section rates are increasing globally. The factors contributing to this increase are complex, and identifying interventions to address them is challenging. Non‐clinical interventions are applied independently of a clinical encounter between a health provider and a patient. Such interventions may target women, health professionals or organisations. They address the determinants of caesarean births and could have a role in reducing unnecessary caesarean sections. This review was first published in 2011. This review update will inform a new WHO guideline, and the scope of the update was informed by WHO’s Guideline Development Group for this guideline. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of non‐clinical interventions intended to reduce unnecessary caesarean section. Search methods: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and two trials registers in March 2018. We also searched websites of relevant organisations and reference lists of related reviews. Selection criteria: Randomised trials, non‐randomised trials, controlled before‐after studies, interrupted time series studies and repeated measures studies were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome measures were: caesarean section, spontaneous vaginal birth and instrumental birth. Data collection and analysis: We followed standard methodological procedures recommended by Cochrane. We narratively described results of individual studies (drawing summarised evidence from single studies assessing distinct interventions). Main results: We included 29 studies in this review (19 randomised trials, 1 controlled before‐after study and 9 interrupted time series studies). Most of the studies (20 studies) were conducted in high‐income countries and none took place in low‐income countries. The studies enrolled a mixed population of pregnant women, including nulliparous women, multiparous women, women with a fear of childbirth, women with high levels of anxiety and women having undergone a previous caesarean section. Overall, we found low‐, moderate‐ or high‐certainty evidence that the following interventions have a beneficial effect on at least one primary outcome measure and no moderate‐ or high‐certainty evidence of adverse effects. Interventions targeted at women or families. Childbirth training workshops for mothers alone may reduce caesarean section (risk ratio (RR) 0.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.33 to 0.89) and may increase spontaneous vaginal birth (RR 2.25, 95% CI 1.16 to 4.36). Childbirth training workshops for couples may reduce caesarean section (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.94) and may increase spontaneous vaginal birth (RR 2.13, 95% CI 1.09 to 4.16). We judged this one study with 60 participants to have low‐certainty evidence for the outcomes above. Nurse‐led applied relaxation training programmes (RR 0.22, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.43; 104 participants, low‐certainty evidence) and psychosocial couple‐based prevention programmes (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.90; 147 participants, low‐certainty evidence) may reduce caesarean section. Psychoeducation may increase spontaneous vaginal birth (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.61; 371 participants, low‐certainty evidence). The control group received routine maternity care in all studies. There were insufficient data on the effect of the four interventions on maternal and neonatal mortality or morbidity. Interventions targeted at healthcare professionals Implementation of clinical practice guidelines combined with mandatory second opinion for caesarean section indication slightly reduces the risk of overall caesarean section (mean difference in rate change ‐1.9%, 95% CI ‐3.8 to ‐0.1; 149,223 participants). Implementation of clinical practice guidelines combined with audit and feedback also slightly reduces the risk of caesarean section (risk difference (RD) ‐1.8%, 95% CI ‐3.8 to ‐0.2; 105,351 participants). Physician education by local opinion leader (obstetrician‐gynaecologist) reduced the risk of elective caesarean section to 53.7% from 66.8% (opinion leader education: 53.7%, 95% CI 46.5 to 61.0%; control: 66.8%, 95% CI 61.7 to 72.0%; 2496 participants). Healthcare professionals in the control groups received routine care in the studies. There was little or no difference in maternal and neonatal mortality or morbidity between study groups. We judged the certainty of evidence to be high. Interventions targeted at healthcare organisations or facilities Collaborative midwifery‐labourist care (in which the obstetrician provides in‐house labour and delivery coverage, 24 hours a day, without competing clinical duties), versus a private practice model of care, may reduce the primary caesarean section rate. In one interrupted time series study, the caesarean section rate decreased by 7% in the year after the intervention, and by 1.7% per year thereafter (1722 participants); the vaginal birth rate after caesarean section increased from 13.3% before to 22.4% after the intervention (684 participants). Maternal and neonatal mortality were not reported. We judged the certainty of evidence to be low. We studied the following interventions, and they either made little or no difference to caesarean section rates or had uncertain effects. Moderate‐certainty evidence suggests little or no difference in caesarean section rates between usual care and: antenatal education programmes for physiologic childbirth; antenatal education on natural childbirth preparation with training in breathing and relaxation techniques; computer‐based decision aids; individualised prenatal education and support programmes (versus written information in pamphlet). Low‐certainty evidence suggests little or no difference in caesarean section rates between usual care and: psychoeducation; pelvic floor muscle training exercises with telephone follow‐up (versus pelvic floor muscle training without telephone follow‐up); intensive group therapy (cognitive behavioural therapy and childbirth psychotherapy); education of public health nurses on childbirth classes; role play (versus standard education using lectures); interactive decision aids (versus educational brochures); labourist model of obstetric care (versus traditional model of obstetric care). We are very uncertain as to the effect of other interventions identified on caesarean section rates as the certainty of the evidence is very low. Authors' conclusions: We evaluated a wide range of non‐clinical interventions to reduce unnecessary caesarean section, mostly in high‐income settings. Few interventions with moderate‐ or high‐certainty evidence, mainly targeting healthcare professionals (implementation of guidelines combined with mandatory second opinion, implementation of guidelines combined with audit and feedback, physician education by local opinion leader) have been shown to safely reduce caesarean section rates. There are uncertainties in existing evidence related to very‐low or low‐certainty evidence, applicability of interventions and lack of studies, particularly around interventions targeted at women or families and healthcare organisations or facilities.Published versio