Konstantina Balafa

Dr. Konstantina Balafa

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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29 October 2022 in Cureus
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
ETEfthymia Thanasa
Efthymia Thanasa
ATAnna Thanasa
Anna Thanasa
EKEvangelos Kamaretsos
Evangelos Kamaretsos
IPIoannis Paraoulakis
Ioannis Paraoulakis
KBKonstantina Balafa
Konstantina Balafa
ITIOANNIS THANASAS
IOANNIS THANASAS
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease and the leading cause of cervical cancer. The undeniable causal link between HPV and cervical cancer led to the creation of HPV prophylactic vaccines. Health professionals are key in counseling parents about their children's immunization, as they are considered valid and reliable sources of information. The systematic review aimed to determine doctors' and nurses' knowledge of HPV, their awareness of the vaccine, and their willingness to accept vaccination. Systematic studies were conducted from 2015 to January 2022 in Medline/PubMed and Google Scholar online databases. The systematic review included 10 good-quality cross-sectional studies and a total of 6700 participants who were administered self-administered questionnaires or personal interviews. From the analysis of most of the studies, it is demonstrated that health professionals have a satisfactory level of knowledge about HPV infection and its effects on human health, even if their knowledge gap in essential details regarding the virus and HPV vaccination is apparent. It was found that various factors regarding health professionals, such as their specialty, gender, working environment, weekly working hours, and the interval since their last HPV training, contribute to forming their knowledge level about HPV and vaccination. In addition, most studies show that most healthcare professionals knew about the existence of HPV vaccines but did not know many details about how their work and their potential benefits. In conclusion, the provision of counseling by health professionals is currently estimated to be the strongest predictor of target group compliance with the HPV vaccine. Consequently, it is essentially considered to investigate the HPV-related knowledge level among health workers and to intensively reeducate them regarding the HPV infection risks and the necessity of HPV vaccination to improve their awareness and strengthen their attitude in favor of vaccination against cervical cancer.

21 August 2021 in Case Reports in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
AEAikaterini-Eirini Evangelopoulou
Aikaterini-Eirini Evangelopoulou
KZKonstantinos Zacharis
Konstantinos Zacharis
KBKonstantina Balafa
Konstantina Balafa
ADAlexandros Daponte
Alexandros Daponte
OKOurania Koukoura
Ourania Koukoura
Cervical squamous cell carcinoma of the uterus associated with pelvic organ prolapse is very rare and usually occurs in elderly women. We hereby present an 81-year-old postmenopausal woman presented to the outpatient department with an ulcerated irreducible uterine procidentia. The prolapse was reduced under general anesthesia and biopsy of the lesions confirmed a cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Pretreatment clinical staging revealed a 16 cm enlarged uterus and mild to moderate unilateral hydroureteronephrosis, secondary to periureteric infiltration, clinical stage IIIB. The patient was disqualified from surgery, and palliative chemotherapy plus radiotherapy was recommended. Patient’s general condition was rapidly deteriorated, and three months after the diagnosis, the patient passed away. Therapeutic management of cervical cancer associated with uterovaginal prolapse is not well established. Hence, this article presents the clinical concerns that arise in such rare and neglected cases.

22 April 2022 in Clinics and Practice
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
ETEfthymia Thanasa
Efthymia Thanasa
DSDimitra Stamouli
Dimitra Stamouli
EGEktoras-Evangelos Gerokostas
Ektoras-Evangelos Gerokostas
KBKonstantina Balafa
Konstantina Balafa
NKNikoleta Koutalia
Nikoleta Koutalia
ITIOANNIS THANASAS
IOANNIS THANASAS
Primary fallopian tube carcinoma is very rare. Diagnosis is challenging. The description of our case concerns an asymptomatic 71-year-old patient who came for a routine gynecological examination. Imaging of the pelvis revealed the presence of a two-chambered cystic formation in the anatomical position of the right ovary. It was decided to investigate the disease by laparotomy. Examination of the frozen section from the site of the cystic lesion was negative for malignancy. An abdominal total hysterectomy was performed with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Serous carcinoma of the fallopian tube was diagnosed postoperatively by histological examination of the surgical preparation. Immediately after surgery, the patient’s health was good.The patient was referred to an oncology center and was monitored. Chemotherapy based on platinum and taxane was recommended. Six months after the operation the patient is in good health. The possibility of a second surgery to treat fallopian tube cancer with pelvic lymph node dissectionis under discussion and is expected to be decided by oncologists and gynecologists-oncologists. In this article, after describing the case report, a brief review of this rare entity disease’s diagnostic and therapeutic approach is attempted.