Thanks to timely diagnosis and medical advancement the number of endometrial cancer (EC) patients achieving long term survival is constantly increasing and here comes the necessity to move forward ...with the understanding of post-treatment sexual adjustment and with the strategies to enhance sexual functioning (SF) and quality of life (QoL) in this population. In this scenario we designed this study aiming to summarize and analyze the available scientific evidence regarding QoL and especially SF in patients affected by EC who underwent surgical and adjuvant treatment.
A preliminary research was conducted using Pubmed database with specific keywords combinations regarding SF, QoL and endometrial cancer. The main findings considered in the present review were: the study design, the number of patients included in each study, the information about pathology (histology and stage of disease), the questionnaires administered and the principal results concerning SF and QoL.
A total of thirteen studies, between 2009 and 2018, treating the aspects of SF and QoL in patients affected by EC were extracted. The principal findings of different studies were organized in the following sections: 1) overall SF in EC patients (reasons for sexual inactivity); 2) impact of EC on SF when compared to benign gynecological disease or healthy controls-focus on surgery; 3) minimally invasive surgery versus classical laparotomic approach and SF of EC patients; 4) surgery alone versus VBT versus EBRT and SF of EC patients; 5) focus on RT; 6) the mutual correlation between sociodemographic, relational, psychological, clinical/metabolic factors and the SF of EC patients.
Considering the widespread diffusion of female sexual dysfunction among EC patients and the relatively good prognosis, especially in early stage disease, it undoubtedly looms the need for proactive countermeasures to maximize the sexual well-being and QoL of these patients. A wide range of intervention in a multi-modal physical and mental perspective should be considered.
Background
Prone positioning (PP) has been used to improve oxygenation in patients affected by the SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19). Several mechanisms, including lung recruitment and better lung ...ventilation/perfusion matching, make a relevant rational for using PP. However, not all patients maintain the oxygenation improvement after returning to supine position. Nevertheless, no evidence exists that a sustained oxygenation response after PP is associated to outcome in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients. We analyzed data from 191 patients affected by COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome undergoing PP for clinical reasons. Clinical history, severity scores and respiratory mechanics were analyzed. Patients were classified as responders (≥ median PaO
2
/FiO
2
variation) or non-responders (< median PaO
2
/FiO
2
variation) based on the PaO
2
/FiO
2
percentage change between pre-proning and 1 to 3 h after re-supination in the first prone positioning session. Differences among the groups in physiological variables, complication rates and outcome were evaluated. A competing risk regression analysis was conducted to evaluate if PaO
2
/FiO
2
response after the first pronation cycle was associated to liberation from mechanical ventilation.
Results
The median PaO
2
/FiO
2
variation after the first PP cycle was 49 19–100% and no differences were found in demographics, comorbidities, ventilatory treatment and PaO
2
/FiO
2
before PP between responders (96/191) and non-responders (95/191). Despite no differences in ICU length of stay, non-responders had a higher rate of tracheostomy (70.5% vs 47.9,
P
= 0.008) and mortality (53.7% vs 33.3%,
P
= 0.006), as compared to responders. Moreover, oxygenation response after the first PP was independently associated to liberation from mechanical ventilation at 28 days and was increasingly higher being higher the oxygenation response to PP.
Conclusions
Sustained oxygenation improvement after first PP session is independently associated to improved survival and reduced duration of mechanical ventilation in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Abstract
Objectives
To compare the long-term risk of treatment failure of dolutegravir-based ART in men and women in a real-life setting.
Patients and methods
Persons living with HIV (PLWH) from the ...ICONA cohort were included if they had started dolutegravir in a two- or three-drug regimen as ART-naive or as virologically controlled ART-experienced. The primary endpoint was time to treatment failure (virological/clinical failure or dolutegravir discontinuation). Secondary endpoints were: time to dolutegravir discontinuation due to toxicity and to neuropsychiatric adverse events; and time to virological failure. Cox regression analyses focused on differences in outcomes by sex.
Results
A total of 2304 PLWH (15% women) initiated dolutegravir-based therapy from ART-naive, and 1916 (19.8% women) while experienced. After a median follow-up of 2.2 (IQR: 0.9–3.9) years in ART-naive and 2.4 (IQR: 1.1–4.3) years in experienced, the 4-year cumulative probability of treatment failure was 33% (95% CI 30.5–35.1) and 20% (95% CI 17.8–22.3), respectively. In the multivariable analyses, in ART-naive the risk of treatment failure was higher for women, but not different after excluding women discontinuing dolutegravir for pregnancy concerns. We also observed a higher risk of discontinuation for toxicity in women (ART-naives: Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR): 1.56%; 95% CI: 1.03–2.37; ART-experienced: AHR: 1.53%; 95% CI: 1.01–2.32), although the absolute 4-year probability was low: 7.7% (95% CI 6.5–9.2) in ART-naive and 8.3% (95% CI 6.9–9.9) in experienced.
Conclusions
In our cohort of PLWH treated with dolutegravir-based regimens and followed up for up to 4 years, we observed a low risk of treatment failure and no evidence for a difference by sex, after excluding discontinuation due to pregnancy concerns. However, we observed a higher risk of dolutegravir discontinuation for toxicity in women.
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