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Background: Sexuality plays a critical role in a woman's postpartum quality of life and also has a strong impact on the quality of her relationship. Given the sparse body of published literature on the subject, we aimed to explore how new mothers explain their postpartum sexual quality of life. Method: A qualitative study was carried out in Iran and Switzerland from December 2018 to March 2019. Focus groups and semi-structured in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with mothers in the first four months after parturition. Mothers who were older than 18 years, were married or in a stable relationship, and experienced a low-risk vaginal birth or cesarean section participated in the study. We used Graneheim and Lundman's approach for analyzing the data. Multiple data collection methods, maximum variation sampling, and peer checks were applied to enhance the rigor of the data. Results: We achieved data saturation after two focus group discussions (FGDs), 15 IDIs in Iran, and 13 IDIs in Switzerland. We extracted three themes for postpartum sexual quality of life: (a) sexual worldview, (b) interpersonal relationship, and (c) postpartum sex storm. The participants described sexual worldview as "sexual beliefs", "sexual perceptions", and "sexual behaviors". The interpersonal relationship consists of "changes in postpartum interpersonal relationships" and "supportive role of the husbands/partners". The last one, postpartum sex storm, has three categories including "direct changes in sexual life", "indirect changes in sexual life", and "resumption of sexual intercourse". Differences between the two cultures were identified in some subcategories such as "sexual interests", "comparable to the first intercourse in life", "negative sexual behaviors of husbands/partners", "positive sexual behavior of mothers", "helping with child care and housework", and "emotional support". Conclusion: New mothers explained postpartum sexual quality of life as a three-theme phenomenon. Although most results were similar in both cultures, there were some differences. Our study's results suggest that sexual quality of life is a topic that encompasses international as well as cultural aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical patient management and medical education has been advancing over time. ChatGPT was developed and trained recently, using a large quantity of textual data from the internet. Medical science is expected to be transformed by its use. The present study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic and management performance of the ChatGPT AI model in obstetrics and gynecology. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Participants/Materials, Setting, Methods: This study was conducted in Iran in March 2023. Medical histories and examination results of 30 cases were determined in six areas of obstetrics and gynecology. The cases were presented to a gynecologist and ChatGPT for diagnosis and management. Answers from the gynecologist and ChatGPT were compared, and the diagnostic and management performance of ChatGPT were determined. Results: Ninety percent (27 of 30) of the cases in obstetrics and gynecology were correctly handled by ChatGPT. Its responses were eloquent, informed, and free of a significant number of errors or misinformation. Even when the answers provided by ChatGPT were incorrect, the responses contained a logical explanation about the case as well as information provided in the question stem. Limitations: The data used in this study were taken from the electronic book and may reflect bias in the diagnosis of ChatGPT. Conclusions: This is the first evaluation of ChatGPT's performance in diagnosis and management in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. It appears that ChatGPT has potential applications in the practice of medicine and is (currently) free and simple to use. However, several ethical considerations and limitations such as bias, validity, copyright infringement, and plagiarism need to be addressed in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We compared the effectiveness of the Babu and Magon uterine closure technique and unlocked double‐layer uterine closure on the integrity and thickness of the uterine scar. Methods: A randomized double‐blind trial was performed at Hazrat‐e Rasoul ‐e‐Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from March 2018 to December 2019, in 72 pregnant women who were candidates for cesarean section for the first time. Women were randomly assigned to the Babu and Magon uterine closure technique (intervention group, n = 34) or double‐layer closure of the uterine incision (control group, n = 38). The primary outcome of the study was the frequency of myometrial defects at the site of the scar (niche), and a large niche. Secondary outcomes, including the time taken for uterine closure and postpartum hemorrhage (early and late), were compared between groups. Results: Adjacent myometrium thickness (AMT) between the two groups was not statistically significant. A niche was reported in 23.5% (8/34) and 50% (19/38) of women in the intervention and controls, respectively (p = 0.02). A large niche was reported in 2.9% (1/34) and 23.7% (9/38) of women in the intervention and controls, respectively (p < 0.01). The duration of uterine closure was not statistically significant between the two groups. Hemoglobin levels did not differ significantly between groups during the first 24 h post‐surgery. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the technique of uterine closure is one of the main potential determinants of myometrial healing. The Babu and Magon uterine closure technique seems to lead to tissue alignment during suturing and consequently cause better myometrial healing, although this issue calls for well‐founded longer studies of appropriate design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic response is influencing maternal and neonatal health care services especially in developing countries. However, the indirect effects of Covid-19 on pregnancy outcomes remain unknown. The aim of the present study was to compare pregnancy outcomes before and after the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Iran.Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 2,503 pregnant women with singleton pregnancies, admitted to the maternity department of a women's hospital in Tehran, Iran, during the pre-Covid-19 pandemic (February 19 to April 19, 2019) and the intra-Covid- 19 pandemic (February 19 to April 19, 2020) period.Results: We included 2,503 women admitted to the hospital; 1,287 (51.4 %) were admitted before the Covid-19 lockdown and 1,216 (48.6 %) during the Covid-19 lockdown. There were no significant differences in stillbirth rates (p = 0.584) or pregnancy complications (including preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension and gestational diabetes) (p = 0.115) between pregnant women in the pre- and intra-pandemic periods. However, decreases in preterm births (p = 0.001), and low birth weight (p = 0.005) were observed in the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period. No significant difference in the mode of delivery, and no maternal deaths were observed during the two time periods.Conclusions: In our study we observed a decrease in preterm births and low birth weight, no change in stillbirths, and a rise in the admission rates of mothers to the ICU during the initial Covid-19 lockdown period compared to pre-Covid-19 lockdown period. Further research will be needed to devise plan for immediate post-pandemic care and future health care crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clear-cell carcinoma arising from the surgical cesarean section scar is very infrequent. The present study reports two patients with clear-cell carcinoma arising from an abdominal wall scar 20 and 23 years after their last cesarean section.Case Presentation: Both Iranian patients had prior cesarean sections nearly 20 years earlier. Patients 1 and 2 had transverse and vertical abdominal incisions, respectively. The initial clinical presentation was a huge lower abdominal mass at the site of the previous cesarean section scar. Both patients underwent abdominal wall mass biopsy. The histological analysis revealed the presence of malignancy. Both patients underwent full-thickness resection of the abdominal wall mass. All surgical margins were tumor-free; however, patient 1 had a very narrow tumor-free margin near the pubic symphysis. As the imaging report of patient 2 revealed the presence of a pelvic mass, the exploration of the intraperitoneal space, simple total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO), and the excision of enlarged pelvic lymph nodes were performed during the surgery. Six cycles of paclitaxel and carboplatin every 3 weeks as adjuvant chemotherapy was administered for both patients after the surgery. One of the patients had disease recurrence 5 months after the termination of chemotherapy, and the other is still disease-free. These two patients had similar pathology and received a similar initial adjuvant treatment; however, they were different in terms of the direction of tumor spread, tumor distance from the pubic symphysis, status of tumor margins, and surgical procedures.Conclusions: We encountered distinct prognoses in the clear-cell carcinoma of cesarean section scars presented herein. The researchers can recommend complete surgical excision of the abdominal wall mass with wide tumor-free margins, exploration of the abdominopelvic space, TAH, and BSO during the first surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The present study was designed to verify the accuracy of the noninvasive biomarkers enolase/Cr, CA125, and CA19-9 as a clinical diagnostic tool for the detection of endometriosis. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed at Rasool-e-Akram Hospital affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, from April 2015 to April 2018. Eighty-six women were scheduled to undergo laparoscopy due to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, pelvic mass, and abnormal uterine bleeding. Serum and urine samples of all patients were collected preoperatively. Serum levels of CA125 and CA19-9, and urine levels of enolase-1 were measured. Serum levels of CA125 and CA19-9 were determined by the electrochemiluminescence method (ECL). Urinary enolase-1 was measured by the ELISA method. Result. Serum levels of CA125 and CA19-9 were significantly higher in the endometriosis group than in controls (p < 0.001 , p = 0.004 , respectively). Levels of enolase I and enolase/Cr were higher in patients with endometriosis, but the differences were not statistically significant. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of combined enolase/Cr, CA125, and CA19-9 were 65%, 66.6%, 71%, and 60.1%, respectively. The positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) of combined enolase/Cr, CA125, and CA19-9 was 1.94 and 0.52, respectively. The area under the ROC curve for enolase / Cr + CA 125 + CA 19 − 9 was 0.675 (95% confidence interval 0.573-0.710). Conclusion. The present study revealed that concurrent measurement of enolase-1, CA125, and CA19-9 might be a valuable noninvasive test for the identification of endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The etiology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is controversially discussed. One of the most recently proposed causes of NEC is an allergy to cow's milk protein. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of a maternal diet without bovine protein on the incidence of any NEC in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Materials and Methods: A pilot randomized controlled clinical trial was performed at Akbarabadi Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from December 2019 to July 2020, in women with VLBW infants. One hundred twenty mothers with VLBW neonates were randomly assigned to the intervention or the control group (60 in each). In the intervention group, mothers were given a dairy-free diet during the first 14 days after the newborn's onset of feeding. No special diet was given to the control group. The primary outcome of the study was the rate of any NEC in neonates, which was compared between groups. Any NEC was defined as Bell stage I or greater. Results: The minimum and maximum gestational ages were 26 and 33 weeks, respectively. The minimum birth weight of neonates was 700 g. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of demographic and preinterventional clinical characteristics. Any NEC was reported in 0% and 10% (5/52) of neonates in the intervention and control groups, respectively; the difference was statistically significant ( p  = 0.028). The NEC symptoms began ∼34 days after birth. Four cases of NEC were classified as Bell stage I, and one was classified as Bell stage II. No statistical association was registered between sex, gestational age, birth weight, and the onset of feeding with the incidence of any NEC. Conclusion: The use of a cow's milk protein-free diet in mothers and exclusive breastfeeding in preterm VLBW infants may reduce the incidence of NEC. We recommend further studies with larger sample sizes in a multicenter setting. The study was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT20200415047086N1).

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most significant risk factors for cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine has a very significant impact on the incidence of cervical cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of prophylactic quadrivalent HPV vaccine in the treatment of women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 1-3)., Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences (SSUMS), Yazd, Iran, from October 2011 to November 2015 in women with histologically confirmed residual/recurrent CIN 1 or high-grade CIN (CIN 2-3). Eligible women were assigned randomly to an intervention and a control group. Women in the intervention group were given HPV vaccinations while those in the control group were not. Participants were followed up for 24 months. Primary and secondary outcomes, and adverse effects of the treatment in the two groups were compared using Student's t test, the chi-square test, or Fisher's exact test. P values < 0.05 or less were considered statistically significant., Results: Three-hundred and twelve women were randomized to the two groups; the data of 138 in the intervention group and 104 in the control group were analyzed. The mean age of the women was 32.59 ± 4.85 years. Differences in age, marital status, and grades of CIN weren't significant between the two groups. At the end of the two-year follow-up period, the number of women with CIN 2-3 in the intervention and control groups was reduced by 75% (from 93 to 23) versus 40% (from 69 to 41). The efficacy of the HPV vaccine in women with CIN 1-3 was 58.7% (p = 0.018). No serious adverse effects related to the vaccines were reported., Conclusions: The prophylactic quadrivalent HPV vaccine after treatment may have a therapeutic effect in women with residual/recurrent CIN 1 or high-grade CIN (CIN 2-3)., Trial Registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT20190603043801N1. Registered 24 July 2019 - Retrospectively registered, http://www.irct.ir/user/trial/40017/view.