Daniel Martingano

Daily dosing of gentamicin using ideal body weight for the treatment of intrapartum chorioamnionitis: a pilot study

Abstract Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether daily dosing of gentamicin using ideal body weight in the treatment of chorioamnionitis is effective. Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective observational study and followed all women receiving treatment for chorioamnionitis which included gentamicin daily dosing calculated using 5 mg/kg ideal body weight. Patients were excluded if pathological analysis of placenta did not confirm chorioamnionitis. Our primary outcome was resolution of infection following delivery without the development of maternal endometritis and/or neonatal sepsis. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals for proportions were calculated using exact binomial tests. These patients were retrospectively compared to patients who received treatment for chorioamnionitis which included traditional gentamicin every 8 h. Results: The study included 160 patients. Of the patients receiving daily dosing (n = 80) compared to traditional dosing (n = 80), 96% (95% CI 95.7–97.6%) achieved the primary outcome versus 91% (88.9–93.1%), 2.5% (95% CI 1.2–3.8%) developed endometritis versus 6.3% (4.2–8.4%), 1.3% (95% CI 0.4–2.2%) delivered neonates with sepsis versus 2.5% (1.2–3.8%), and 39% required cesarean delivery (95% CI 46.2–53.8) versus 37% (33.2–40.8%). Conclusion: Daily dosing of gentamicin using ideal body weight is effective in successful treatment of chorioamnionitis without development endometritis and/or neonatal sepsis across different ethnicities.

Ruptured Primary Omental Pregnancy Mimicking Adnexal Implantation

Ectopic pregnancies occur when the implantation of a fertilized ovum occurs outside of the endometrial cavity. The majority of ectopic pregnancies encountered in clinical practice are located within the fallopian tube. Abdominal pregnancies represent 1% of all ectopic pregnancies. Primary omental pregnancy, in which the extrauterine site of implantation is the greater omentum, is the least common form of abdominal pregnancy. The rarity of an ectopic pregnancy in the omentum and the absence of clinical symptoms often delays diagnosis and proper identification before rupture. The authors describe the case of a 23-year-old woman who had hemoperitoneum from a ruptured omental ectopic pregnancy that mimicked adnexal implantation. Her omental pregnancy was diagnosed through intraoperative exploration and osteopathic structural examination findings.

Somatic Dysfunction in the Diagnosis of Uncommon Ectopic Pregnancies: Surgical Correlation and Comparison With Related Pathologic Findings

BACKGROUND Ectopic pregnancies occur when the implantation of a fertilized ovum occurs outside the endometrial cavity. Such pregnancies occur in approximately 1.5% to 2.0% of all pregnancies and cause 6% of maternal deaths. OBJECTIVES To evaluate osteopathic structural examination (OSE) findings in patients with ectopic pregnancies of uncommon locations and to establish the utility of these findings in the diagnosis of these ectopic pregnancies. METHODS In this prospective case series, a focused OSE was performed on each patient with an ectopic pregnancy at her initial presentation after the patient history but before other diagnostic or laboratory tests were performed and surgical treatment was initiated. Chapman reflex points (CRPs) were evaluated pre- and postoperatively. For comparison, patients who had otherwise normal first pregnancies, underwent elective postpartum bilateral tubal ligation, or had simple ovarian cysts were also included and received OSEs. RESULTS Seven cases with ectopic pregnancies outside the fallopian tube were included. Two primary ovarian pregnancies and 1 heterotopic pregnancy (uterine and ovarian) had somatic dysfunction at the T10-T11 spinal levels and CRPs posterior for the ovary, 1 primary omental pregnancy with somatic dysfunction at the T9-T12 spinal levels and CRPs anterior and posterior for the ileum and jejunum, and 1 tubal pregnancy with somatic dysfunction at the T10-L1 spinal levels and CRPs anterior and posterior for the fallopian tube. Two cornual ectopic pregnancies were not associated with unique findings. These somatic dysfunctions and CRP findings appear to be distinct from those of comparison cases, including first pregnancies at any trimester, simple ovarian cysts, and elective bilateral tubal ligation. CONCLUSION The OSE findings demonstrated in these cases aided in the final diagnosis and thus can potentially prove helpful in cases of ovarian, tubal, and omental pregnancies to provide clues to abnormal ectopic pregnancy locations where diagnostic imaging results are insufficient or equivocal. Osteopathic structural examinations may allow osteopathic physicians to better prepare for treatment approaches, including surgery.

Osteopathic Approach to the Diagnosis of Appendiceal Mucinous Cystadenocarcinoma Mimicking Primary Ovarian Malignant Neoplasm

The fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States is ovarian cancer. An estimated 21,980 new cases and 14,270 estimated deaths occurred nationwide in 2014. More than two-thirds of cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed at stage III or IV when the peritoneal cavity or other organs are affected. Primary appendiceal malignant neoplasms may mimic advanced-stage ovarian cancer and can be misdiagnosed because of its presentation as a palpable adnexal mass. The authors describe a 42-year-old woman who was admitted to the department of obstetrics and gynecology to receive treatment for presumed advanced-stage ovarian cancer. She subsequently received a diagnosis of primary pseudomyxoma peritonei metastatic to the ovaries, mimicking a primary ovarian cancer by osteopathic structural examination findings, serum tumor markers, surgical exploration, and histopathologic confirmation.

Intact Cornual Ectopic Pregnancy and Dermoid Cyst With Intraoperative Rupture.

Of ectopic pregnancies encountered in clinical practice, more than 95% are located within the fallopian tube, and 2% to 4% are cornual. A cornual ectopic pregnancy is a serious clinical condition and poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Thus, understanding the clinical course and treatment options is essential. The authors describe the case of a 29-year-old woman who presented to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The patient was suspected of having a cornual pregnancy, and a dermoid cyst had been detected during routine ultrasonography. In the absence of maternal symptoms, the clinical scenario is potentially dangerous and must be treated promptly and efficiently to decrease morbidity and mortality.

Rupture of internal pudendal artery aneurysm following spontaneous vaginal delivery: An uncommon cause of post-partum bleeding

Pregnancy-related rupture of an arterial aneurysm is an unusual occurrence associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Various pregnancy-related physiologic changes appear to make pregnancy a high-risk situation for rupture of either preexisting arterial aneurysms or those that develop throughout the course of pregnancy. Splenic artery aneurysms are the most common (60%), followed by hepatic (20%), superior mesenteric (5.9%), celiac (4%), ovarian, uterine, and renal (<2%) artery. Even rarer are aneurysms involving the internal iliac artery and its branches, to which there is only one published case report. In this report, we present a case of a 34-year-old pregnant gravida1 para0 who, following a normal vaginal delivery, had a severe rupture of the right internal pudendal artery and subsequently developed a massive hematoma which ultimately required embolization treatment.

Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Pseudoaneurysm after Aortic Valve Replacement

Left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysm is an uncommon complication following aortic valve replacement (AVR), occurring most frequently secondary to endocarditis. We present a case of a 47-year-old female with a history of intravenous drug abuse and a past surgical history of two AVRs (2001 and 2009 with aortic root replacement for endocarditis) who presented with symptoms of lower extremity weakness. Subsequent radiologic imaging revealed the presence of a left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysm, which was surgically managed with a homologous conduit.

Osteopathic Evaluation of Urinary Retention Caused by Atypical Presentation of Invasive Cervical Cancer Mimicking Primary Urothelial Tumor

Cancer of the uterine cervix is the third most common gynecologic cancer diagnosis and cause of death among gynecologic cancers in the United States. Cervical cancer is frequently asymptomatic until it reaches a locally advanced stage. The authors present a case of urinary retention caused by an atypical presentation of invasive cervical cancer mimicking primary urothelial tumor. The patient was evaluated by a multidisciplinary team, with osteopathic structural examination, intraoperative examination, surgical resection, and histopathologic analysis.

Variations in Progression and Regression of Precancerous Lesions of the Uterine Cervix on Cytology Testing Among Women of Different Races

Background Although not incorporated into current cervical cancer screening guidelines, racial differences are known to persist in both occurrence of and outcomes related to cervical cancer. Objective To compare the differences in progression and regression of precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix on cervical cytologic analysis among women of different races who adhered to cervical cancer screening recommendations and follow-up. Methods Retrospective cohort study comparing differences in precancerous lesion diagnoses for patients receiving adequate evaluation according to the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology guidelines. The authors fit Markov multistate models to estimate self-reported race-specific expected wait times and hazard ratios for each possible regression and progression and compared a race model with an intercept-only model using a likelihood ratio test. Results The sample included 5472 women receiving a Papanicolaou test between January 2006 and September 2016, contributing a total of 24,316 person-years of follow-up. Of 21 hazard ratios tested for significance, the following 4 hazard ratios (95% CIs) were statistically significant: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) progression to low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) for Hispanic patients (0.72; 95% CI, 0.54-0.96); LSIL regression to ASC-US for Hispanic patients (1.55; 95% CI, 1.04-2.31), LSIL regression to ASC-US for Asian patients (1.91; 95% CI, 1.08-3.36), and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion regression to LSIL for black patients (0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.96). There is an observed trend that all racial groups other than white had a slower rate of progression from ASC-US to LSIL, with Hispanics having demonstrated the slowest rate from ASC-US to LSIL. Hispanics also demonstrated the fastest rate from LSIL to HSIL when compared with all other race categories. In regressions, blacks had the slowest rate of regression from HSIL to LSIL, and Asians had the fastest rate from LSIL to ASC-US. The Hispanic group demonstrated the fastest expected progression (17.6 months; 95% CI, 11.5-25.5), as well as the fastest regression (27.6 months; 95% CI, 21.5-35.6), and the black group has the slowest expected times for both progression (28.1 months; 95% CI, 14.6-47.2) and regression (49 months; 95% CI, 29.1-86.2). The number of visits (1 vs ≥2) in the study was differentially distributed both by race (P=.033) and by last diagnosis (P<.001). Conclusion Variations in precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix are not uniform across races.

Measuring Multidimensional Empathy: Theoretical and Practical Considerations for Osteopathic Medical Researchers

Osteopathic physicians are increasingly recognizing the importance of empathy for improving patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. This review advocates for a multidimensional perspective of empathy, encompassing both affective and cognitive empathy, and highlights situational and dispositional factors relevant to the curtailment of empathy. A review of the utility of self-report, behavioral, and physiological measures that researchers may use to quantify empathy in further research is also provided. The authors encourage members of the osteopathic medical profession to embrace a fuller understanding of empathy.