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Aims Infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) may lead to the development of severe respiratory failure. In hospitalized-patients, prompt interruption of the virus-driven inflammatory process by using combination treatments seems theoretically of outmost importance. Our aim was to investigate the hypothesis of multifaceted management of these patients. Methods A treatment algorithm based on ferritin was applied in 311 patients (67.2% males; median age 63-years; moderate disease, n=101; severe, n=210). Patients with ferritin

STUDY OBJECTIVE Τo investigate whether the use of vasopressin played an important role in the safe expansion of the indications of laparoscopic myomectomy in our practice. DESIGN A retrospective comparison of prospectively collected data (Canadian Task Force classification II2). SETTING A gynecologic endoscopy unit in a tertiary university hospital. PATIENTS One hundred fifty patients undergoing laparoscopic myomectomy; 50 were treated without the use of any vasoconstrictive agent (group 1), and 100 were treated with intraoperative intramyometrial injection of dilute vasopressin (20 IU/100 mL normal saline) (group 2). INTERVENTIONS Laparoscopic myomectomy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We compared the 2 groups in terms of size, number, and type of myomas; estimated blood loss (EBL); procedure length; transfusion rates; laparoconversion rates; and rates of complications. Two cases in group 1 (4%) were laparoconverted versus none (0%) in group 2. Overall, the mean EBL was 321.8 ± 246.0 mL in group 1 compared with 147.8 ± 171.8 mL in group 2, respectively (p

Intrapartum damage to the anal sphincter is an important factor in fecal incontinence. Obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) vary from 1 to 18% of vaginal deliveries, including instrumental deliveries. The severity of anal sphincter injuries vary from superficial lacerations to deep injuries that can extend to the epithelium. Obstetric anal sphincter injuries are associated with both short-term complications (heavy bleeding, difficulties in recovery, increased incidence of infections, increased perineal pain) and long-term complications (rectovaginal fistulae or facal incontinence). A significant number of these anal sphincter injuries can be detected promptly after a good clinical examination, but still that does not exclude the possibility of these women suffering long-term complications. What is more when some of these so called ‘occult tears’ go undetected further increase the morbidity of the woman. Sonography of the perineum and the anal sphincter appears to offer a better diagnosis and detection of these injuries after vaginal delivery, which allows a timely and better treatment with less complications, with endoanal sonography offering the best detection rates so far. How to cite this article Grigoriadis T, Mylona SC, Giannoulis G, Athanasiou S, Antsaklis A. Sonographic Evaluation of Obstetric Anal Injuries. Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2015;9(3):266-274.

The aim of this study was the cross-cultural adaptation, validation, and psychometric evaluation in the Greek language of two self-reported instruments used for patients with pelvic floor disorders (PFDs): the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20) and the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ-7). For the cross-cultural adaptation, a multistep forward–back translation protocol was utilized. Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the questionnaires involved the assessment of validity, stability, internal consistency, and responsiveness. Validity, stability, and internal consistency were evaluated in women presenting with PFDs (group A), whereas responsiveness was assessed in women undergoing pelvic floor surgery (group B). A total of 100 women presenting with PFDs were included in Group A. A near excellent content/face validity was confirmed as assessed by the missing values criterion (0–5 %). Stability, as assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient, showed almost perfect agreement with a mean ICC of 0.850 (PFDI-20) and 0.840 (PFIQ-7). Internal consistency was found to be high for both questionnaires (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.8). Finally, 85 women underwent pelvic floor repair surgery and were included for the assessment of responsiveness (group B). Good to excellent responsiveness was found for the prolapse and urinary subscales of the questionnaires. However, poor responsiveness was found for the colorectal–anal scale of the PFDI-20, whereas the colorectal–anal scale of the PFIQ-7 proved to be nonresponsive to change. The Greek versions of PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 were found to be comprehensible, valid, reliable, and responsive to use with patients complaining of PFDs.

We assessed the efficacy of midurethral slings (MUS) in women with urodynamically proven mixed incontinence (UMI).A prospective study was carried out in women with UMI in whom conservative treatment failed and who underwent MUS. Pre- and postoperative assessment included: completion of the validated ICIQ-FLUTS questionnaire, POP-Q examination and urodynamics (UDS). The primary outcome was the assessment of symptoms at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included assessment of postoperative UDS findings and evaluation of differences in symptoms and UDS diagnosis between the TVT and TVT-O groups.Eighty-five women were included; 44 (49.2%) underwent TVT and 41 (51.8%) underwent TVT-O. Concomitant prolapse surgery was performed in 65 out of 85 patients (76.5%). At 12 months' follow-up there was a statistically significant reduction in stress urinary incontinence (p0.001), urge urinary incontinence (p0.001), urgency (p = 0.021) and frequency (p = 0.014). Depending on the symptom 10.6% to 24.7% of women reported deterioration of symptoms. UDS at 12 months revealed the absence of urodynamic stress incontinence (USI) in 82.4% of patients and no evidence of detrusor overactivity (DO) in 35.3%. No differences in symptoms were found between the TVT and TVT-O group, but the absence of DO was more common in the TVT group (48.5% vs 22.7%, p = 0.014).Placement of MUS alleviates incontinence and overactive bladder symptoms in patients with UMI. TVT causes similar subjective improvement to TVT-O, but resulted in higher resolution of DO. Our study provides data that could be helpful in informing patients preoperatively of the potential impact that the MUS may have on each individual symptom separately, including the likelihood of symptom deterioration.

Aims The objective of this study was to validate four specific International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaires (ICIQ) modules in the Greek language: (i) the ICIQ-FLUTS long form (ICIQ-FLUTS-LF), (ii) the ICIQ-FLUTS, (iii) the ICIQ-FLUTS-SEX, and (iv) the ICIQ-Vaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (ICIQ-VS), originally validated in English. Methods The English questionnaires were initially translated into Greek, then back-translated into English and final modifications were made after testing the questionnaires on a sample of patients. To validate the translated questionnaires, the following tests were undertaken: Content/face validity, internal consistency (reliability) and stability (test–retest reliability). Results A total of 122 women participated in the study. Eighty-nine presented with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and/or urinary incontinece (UI) symptoms and 33 attended an outpatient gynecological clinic without POP/UI symptoms. All modules showed excellent content/face validity (missing values 0–2.5%). Cronbach's alpha test for internal consistency showed satisfactory to excellent reliability (0.876 for ICIQ-FLUTS-LF, 0.85 for ICIQ-FLUTS, and 0.83 for ICIQ-VS), with the exception ICIQ-FLUTS-SEX which was 0.69. The test–retest reliability showed moderate to near-perfect agreement (weighted kappa value 0.52–0.99). Conclusions The Greek versions of the ICIQ-FLUTS-LF, ICIQ-FLUTS, and ICIQ-VS questionnaires were successfully validated. Our data showed that the ICIQ FLUTS-SEX questionnaire, as it stands in its current English version, cannot be reliably used to assess sex symptoms in the Greek female population. Neurourol. Urodynam. 31:1141–1144, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Aims The objective of this study was to validate four specific International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaires (ICIQ) modules in the Greek language: (i) the ICIQ-FLUTS long form (ICIQ-FLUTS-LF), (ii) the ICIQ-FLUTS, (iii) the ICIQ-FLUTS-SEX, and (iv) the ICIQ-Vaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (ICIQ-VS), originally validated in English. Methods The English questionnaires were initially translated into Greek, then back-translated into English and final modifications were made after testing the questionnaires on a sample of patients. To validate the translated questionnaires, the following tests were undertaken: Content/face validity, internal consistency (reliability) and stability (testretest reliability). Results A total of 122 women participated in the study. Eighty-nine presented with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and/or urinary incontinece (UI) symptoms and 33 attended an outpatient gynecological clinic without POP/UI symptoms. All modules showed excellent content/face validity (missing values 02.5%). Cronbach’s alpha test for internal consistency showed satisfactory to excellent reliability (0.876 for ICIQ-FLUTS-LF, 0.85 for ICIQ-FLUTS, and 0.83 for ICIQ-VS), with the exception ICIQ-FLUTS-SEX which was 0.69. The testretest reliability showed moderate to near-perfect agreement (weighted kappa value 0.520.99). Conclusions The Greek versions of the ICIQ-FLUTS-LF, ICIQ-FLUTS, and ICIQ-VS questionnaires were successfully validated. Our data showed that the ICIQ FLUTS-SEX questionnaire, as it stands in its current English version, cannot be reliably used to assess sex symptoms in the Greek female population. Neurourol. Urodynam. 31:11411144, 2012. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The objective of this study was to validate four specific International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaires (ICIQ) modules in the Greek language: (i) the ICIQ-FLUTS long form (ICIQ-FLUTS-LF), (ii) the ICIQ-FLUTS, (iii) the ICIQ-FLUTS-SEX, and (iv) the ICIQ-Vaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (ICIQ-VS), originally validated in English.The English questionnaires were initially translated into Greek, then back-translated into English and final modifications were made after testing the questionnaires on a sample of patients. To validate the translated questionnaires, the following tests were undertaken: Content/face validity, internal consistency (reliability) and stability (test-retest reliability).A total of 122 women participated in the study. Eighty-nine presented with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and/or urinary incontinence (UI) symptoms and 33 attended an outpatient gynecological clinic without POP/UI symptoms. All modules showed excellent content/face validity (missing values 0-2.5%). Cronbach's alpha test for internal consistency showed satisfactory to excellent reliability (0.876 for ICIQ-FLUTS-LF, 0.85 for ICIQ-FLUTS, and 0.83 for ICIQ-VS), with the exception ICIQ-FLUTS-SEX which was 0.69. The test-retest reliability showed moderate to near-perfect agreement (weighted kappa value 0.52-0.99).The Greek versions of the ICIQ-FLUTS-LF, ICIQ-FLUTS, and ICIQ-VS questionnaires were successfully validated. Our data showed that the ICIQ FLUTS-SEX questionnaire, as it stands in its current English version, cannot be reliably used to assess sex symptoms in the Greek female population.

In this paper, a platform for the creation and deployment of personalized Location Based Services with respect to user's privacy is presented. The platform is based on the creation of mobile services built from service components that are located on a central server. The process of service creation and personalization (including privacy level) is performed by the mobile users, through the selection of the necessary components (tables, attributes, rules).

Access to cultural exhibits is a central issue in museums and exhibition galleries that is recently approached under a new, technological perspective. Although the cultural industries' practices in the cases of museums and cultural exhibits have remained practically unchanged for long, in recent years we are witnessing a gradual adoption of media-technologies in various aspects, such as collections archiving and digital document preservation, media- and Web-presentation, graphical animations, etc. Lately, Internet and Web-based technologies have been employed for providing access, mostly to images of exhibited objects. In few cases, the incorporation of higher-end technology, such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, or robotics, is explored. In this paper we present such an effort, the TOURBOT project (an acronym for TOUr-guide RoBOT), which emphasizes the development of alternative ways for interactive museum telepresence, essentially through the use of robotic "avatars", and comment on the experience gained from its use in a museum setting.