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Invasive insects present an ongoing challenge to the safety of U.S. agriculture. A current threat to the U.S. cotton industry is Oxycarenus hyalinipennis (Costa), commonly known as the cotton seed bug. Populations are found throughout most of the world except for North America, and the southeastern U.S. is believed to provide a favorable environment for its establishment. A major component in efforts to control the spread of invasive pests is the rapid and accurate identification of intercepted specimens. Unfortunately, O. hyalinipennis belongs to an incompletely characterized taxon where the assignment of species identity by simple morphological keys is often problematic. In this study, we assessed the potential of DNA barcoding to facilitate the identification of the cotton seed bug in field-collected specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: In the United States, vesico-vaginal fistula formation is most commonly associated with prior gynecologic surgery, and only rarely with severe pressure necrosis. Case: A 16-year-old girl presented with continuous urinary leakage and malodorous discharge. Examination revealed an incarcerated plastic cup in the vagina with a 5cm vesico-vaginal fistula at the bladder neck. After trans-vaginal repair, the patient underwent full recovery with an intact continence mechanism. Conclusion: Evaluation of unusual urinary symptoms in an adolescent should include pelvic examination and/or imaging. An undisclosed vaginal foreign body is a rare, but well described entity, contributing to vesico-vaginal fistula formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Given the accelerating opioid crisis in the United States and evidence that patients use fewer opioid tablets than prescribed, surgeons may choose to decrease prescribed quantities. The effect this may have on patient satisfaction with pain control after hospital discharge is unknown.Objective: The primary objective of this study was to compare patient satisfaction with postoperative pain control between patients receiving a routine or reduced quantity opioid prescription after prolapse repair. Secondary objectives included a comparison of opioid-related side-effects, the number of opioid tablets used, and the number of excess tablets prescribed between these groups.Study Design: This was a single-center, unmasked, 2-arm, randomized controlled noninferiority trial of women who underwent a prolapse repair with a planned overnight hospitalization. Patients were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 study arms: routine (28 tablets of oxycodone 5 mg) or reduced (5 tablets) prescription of opioid tablets. Patients were eligible if they were at least 18 years of age and undergoing a prolapse repair with an anticipated overnight hospital stay. Exclusion criteria included a history of chronic pain, preoperative opioid use, intolerance to study medication, or a score of ≥30 on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. In addition to their opioid prescription, all patients received multimodal pain medications at discharge. Patients were asked to complete 6 weeks of diaries to record pain and medication use. The primary outcome (patient satisfaction) was collected as part of a postoperative survey completed at patients' routine postoperative visit 6 weeks after surgery. The sample size for noninferiority was calculated at 59 patients per group for a total of 118 patients.Results: One hundred eighteen patients were assigned randomly; the primary outcome was available for 116. The majority of patients were white, postmenopausal, and nonsmokers; the mean age was 62±10.4 years. The most common surgery was a hysterectomy with native tissue repair (n=71; 60%). One hundred ten patients (93%) were satisfied with postoperative pain control. Statistical analysis constructed for noninferiority showed that the difference between the groups was <15% (93% vs 93%; P=.005). Subjects in the reduced arm reported requiring an additional opioid prescription more frequently than in the routine arm (15% vs 2%; P=.01). Patients in the routine arm used more opioid tablets than the reduced arm (median, 3 [interquartile range, 0-14] vs 1 [interquartile range, 0-3]), but overall opioid utilization was low. As such, patients in the routine arm had significantly more unused opioid tablets (median, 26 [interquartile range, 15-28] vs 4 [interquartile range, 2-5]).Conclusion: Patient satisfaction with pain control was noninferior in patients who received a reduced quantity of opioid tablets after prolapse repair compared with those who received a routine prescription. A large quantity of excess opioid tablets was seen in both groups. Surgeons should consider prescribing 5-10 opioid tablets after prolapse repair surgery and consider applying these findings to postoperative prescribing after other gynecologic procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]