Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Women with this syndrome may have infrequent menstrual periods or amenorrhea and excess androgen levels. The ovaries develop numerous small follicles and fail to ovulate on a regular basis, with subsequent subfertility in those women that wish to conceive. The etiology of polycystic ovary syndrome is unclear. Early diagnosis and treatment may reduce the risk of long-term complications such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. To assess the knowledge and attitude of university students towards polycystic ovary syndrome at two universities in the north of Jordan. ology: This is a cross-sectional online survey that polled female students at two universities in the north of Jordan. The main outcome measures included average polycystic ovary syndrome awareness score, predictors of high awareness scores, and sources of information. Formal diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome was reported by 29.9% of the 1182 students, the average polycystic ovary syndrome awareness score was M = 11.59 (SD = 4.95). Being a 6th and 5th year college student were the strongest independent predictors for recognizing the term polycystic ovary syndrome, in addition to be a student in the majors of veterinary medicine, nursing, pharmacy, or dentistry. Age was a significant predictor of polycystic ovary syndrome awareness score. Being investigated for, or being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome were significant predictors of higher scores. Body mass index was a weak predictor of polycystic ovary syndrome awareness. Participants who reported to have hirsutism, acanthosis nigricans, or acne scored significantly higher than others. Healthcare professionals were the most common source of information reported by participants. Lectures were most effective in increasing awareness score but were poorly utilized outside the curriculum. Although students in this study demonstrated a satisfactory level of polycystic ovary syndrome awareness and were more likely to seek information from healthcare professionals, this level of awareness should spread-out to other segments of the population.
1 June 2022 in International Journal of Women's Health
Objective: To assess the prevalence of premenstrual and menstrual symptoms and to investigate premenstrual severity’s association with perceived stress of premenstrual syndrome among medical students. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected between March and April 2021, a self-administered online questionnaire (Supplementary Material) was distributed to a sample of female medical students in Jordan (n=594). Results: The mean age was 21.6 ± 2.2 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 22.8 ± 4.1 kg/m2. Most students were in their 5th and 6th university year, where 75.4% reported having dysmenorrhea, 45.8% used pharmacological agents for pain relief, while 54.2% used non-pharmacological means, and 58.1% occasionally skipped lectures. Most participants reported a constellation of physical and psychological symptoms. The mean for the premenstrual severity scale score was 29.3, and the mean for the perceived stress scale scores was 21.6. There was a statistically significant correlation between the premenstrual severity scale score and the perceived stress scale, between the premenstrual severity scale and absenteeism, between premenstrual severity scale and year of study, and between dysmenorrhea and the perceived stress scale, but not between the severity of symptoms and method of pain relief. Conclusion: Premenstrual and menstrual symptoms have a negative impact on students that affects their academic participation. More support should be given from universities to address the menstruation-related struggles of female students.
1 December 2020 in International Journal of Women's Health
Objective: To study factors associated with the success of single dose methotrexate (MTX) treatment in women with ectopic pregnancy. Methods: This is a retrospective study of women (n=110) with ectopic pregnancy and treated with single dose of MTX. The clinical presentations, transvaginal sonography (TVS) findings, pretreatment beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG), and progesterone values were compared between the treatment success (Group S) and treatment failure (Group F) groups. Results: The overall success rate of treatment with single dose of MTX was 75.45%. The majority of patients in both groups presented with pain and bleeding (∼ 55%), and bleeding only was the presenting symptom in about 20% of patients. Only 3 patients (3.61%) in Group S required a repeat dose of MTX. In contrast, 51.8% of the Group F patients required a repeat dose. The mean pretreatment β-HCG level was 2.3 times higher in Group F than in Group S (1734± 1684 vs 4036± 2940 IU/L). The data showed a β-HCG level of 3924IU/L as a suitable cut-off value with 76.19% sensitivity and 62.5% specificity to predict MTX treatment success. History of ectopic pregnancy had no relation with success/treatment failure or a repeat dose. None of the TVS findings were related to the outcome of the treatment, whereas pretreatment HCG level was a significant predictor. Conclusion: The single dose MTX treatment was successful in 75.45% (83/110) of cases, with 3.61% (3/83) requiring a repeat dose of the drug. Pretreatment β-HCG level is a significant predictor of the treatment outcome.
BACKGROUND: Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is a symptom that deviates from the normal menstrual cycle. AUB is characterized by changes in the frequency, volume, and duration of the menstrual flow. The etiology of AUB, which varies with age, may be attributed to both structural and non-structural causes.OBJECTIVES: Determine the histopathological pattern of endometrial biopsies in patients with AUB across different age and parity groups who have undergone dilation and curettage (D&C), along with the discrepancy between D&C and histopathological findings after hysterectomy.DESIGN: Retrospective chart reviewSETTING: Tertiary referral hospitalPATIENTS AND METHODS: We collected data on all patients diagnosed with AUB between January 2015 and December 2020. Histopathological findings of all D&C endometrial biopsy samples were examined after being categorized by age and parity groups. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and NPV were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of D&C.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Histopathological pattern of D&C endometrial biopsies by age and parity groups.SAMPLE SIZE: 3233 patients.RESULTS: Most patients were in the 18-39 year age group, with normal cyclical findings being the most common histopathological finding. Malignant lesions were observed in 42 patients with a majority being older than 50 years. In 13.3% (42/316) of patients, D&C failed to detect intrauterine disorder that was found on hysterectomy. The overall accuracy of D&C in determining the existence of normal versus pathological findings was 75.60%, the sensitivity was 72.90%, the specificity was 77.90%, the positive predictive value was 73.86% and the NPV was 77.05% in our patients.CONCLUSION: Normal cyclic changes account for the highest proportion of histopathological findings. However, hyperplasia and malignancies are important causes of perimenopausal and postmenopausal bleeding. While the use of D&C as a sampling tool for AUB cases remains questionable, the use of D&C in diagnosing premalignant and malignant cases is highly effective.LIMITATIONS: Single-center, retrospective design, incomplete medical records, and inter-rater reliability could not be determined.CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.
1 March 2021 in Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
Objective: Poor ovarian response (POR) refers to a subnormal follicular response that leads to a decrease in the quality and quantity of the eggs retrieved after ovarian stimulation during assisted reproductive treatment (ART). The present study investigated the associations of multiple variants of the estrogen receptor 2 (ESR2) and follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) genes with POR in infertile Jordanian women undergoing ART.Methods: Four polymorphisms, namely ESR2 rs1256049, ESR2 rs4986938, FSHR rs6165, and FSHR rs6166, were investigated in 60 infertile Jordanian women undergoing ART (the case group) and 60 age-matched fertile women (the control group), with a mean age of 33.60±6.34 years. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected by restriction fragment length polymorphism and then validated using Sanger sequencing.Results: The p-value of the difference between the case and control groups regarding FSHR rs6166 was very close to 0.05 (p=0.054). However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the other three SNPs, namely ESR2 rs1256049, ESR2 rs4986938, and FSHR rs6165 (p=0.561, p=0.433, and p=0.696, respectively).Conclusion: The association between FSHR rs6166 and POR was not statistically meaningful in the present study, but the near-significant result of this experiment suggests that statistical significance might be found in a future study with a larger number of patients.
Background: Residency programs have been impacted by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this study we aim to investigate and evaluate the impact of the pandemic on residents as well as residency training programs.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including a survey of 43 questions prepared on Google forms and electronically distributed among a convenience sample of residents training at a tertiary center in North Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in the period between October 30th and November 8th of 2020. The survey included questions that addressed the impact of the pandemic on residents’ health as well as training programs. The study participants included residents in training at KAUH in 2020 and were stratified according to the type of residency program (surgical residents (SRs) and non-surgical residents (NSRs)). Statistical methods included descriptive analysis, Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test, Mann Whitney U test, and Cramer’s V and r statistics as measures of effect sizes.Results: Of all 430 residents, 255 (59%) responded to the survey. A total of 17 (7%) of residents reported being infected with COVID-19 and a significant difference was reported between SRs and NSRs (10% vs 4%, V = .124 “small effect” (95% CI; .017–.229),p = 0.048). Approximately, 106 (42%) reported a decrease in the number of staff working at the clinic and 164 (64%) reported limited access to personal protective equipment during the pandemic. On a 4-point Likert scale for the feeling of anxiety, the median was 2 (2–3 IQR) in the NSRs group, vs 2 (1–2 IQR) in the SRs groups, with the NSRs being more likely to feel anxious (r = 0.13 “small effect” (95% CI; 0.007–0.249),p = .044). Similarly, the proportion of residents who reported feeling anxious about an inadequacy of protective equipment in the work area was significantly greater in the NSRs group (90.3% vs 75.2%; V = .201 “small effect” (95% CI; .078–.313),p = .001), as well as the proportion of residents who reported feeling increased stress and anxiety between colleagues being also significantly higher in the NSRs group (88.1% vs 76%; V = .158 “small effect” (95% CI; .032–.279),p = .012).Conclusion: The burden of the ongoing pandemic on the mental health status of residents is very alarming and so providing residents with psychological counseling and support is needed. Also, critical implications on the flow of residency training programs have been noticed. This necessitates adapting and adopting smart educational techniques to compensate for such limitations.