Stephen Matseoane

A nurse practitioner intervention to increase breast and cervical cancer screening for poor, elderly black women

AbstractObjective: To compare nurse practitioner (NP) and physician rates of breast and cervical cancer screening among poor, elderly black women. Design: A quasi-experimental design was used to compare pre- and postintervention annual screening rates. Rates were determined by medical record audits. Setting: Two urban public hospital primary care clinics served as the study sites. Patients: All women aged 65 years or more were eligible to participate. Interventions: Women were offered screening by a NP during a routine visit in the intervention site; a physician reminder system was used in the control site. Main results: Baseline annual screening rates were comparable in the two study sites. At the end of the study period, rates were significantly higher in the NP site, compared with the control. In the NP clinic, the annual rate of Pap tests increased to 56.9% from the baseline of 17.8%, and mammographies increased to 40% from 18.3%. In comparison, rates remained low in the control site, increasing only to 18.2% of women receiving Pap tests from a baseline of 11.8%, and remaining at 18% for mammography. Conclusions: Use of a NP to deliver same-day screening is an effective strategy to target poor, elderly black women for breast and cervical cancer screening. However, even with the substantial increases in rates obtained with the NP intervention, screening in this vulnerable population remains below nationally targeted levels.

Change in periodontitis during pregnancy and the risk of pre-term birth and low birthweight.

AIM Determine whether periodontitis progression during pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes. METHODS We used clinical data and birth outcomes from the Obstetrics and Periodontal Therapy Study, in which randomly selected women received periodontal treatment before 21 weeks of gestation (N=413) or after delivery (410). Birth outcomes were available for 812 women and follow-up periodontal data for 722, including 75 whose pregnancies ended <37 weeks. Periodontitis progression was defined as >or=3 mm loss of clinical attachment. Birth outcomes were compared between non-progressing and progressing groups using the log rank and t tests, separately in all women and in untreated controls. RESULTS The distribution of gestational age at the end of pregnancy (p>0.1) and mean birthweight (3295 versus 3184 g, p=0.11) did not differ significantly between women with and without disease progression. Gestational age and birthweight were not associated with change from baseline in percentage of tooth sites with bleeding on probing or between those who did versus did not progress according to a published definition of disease progression (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS In these women with periodontitis and within this studys limitations, disease progression was not associated with an increased risk for delivering a pre-term or a low birthweight infant.

Serum Inflammatory Mediators in Pregnancy: Changes After Periodontal Treatment and Association With Pregnancy Outcomes

BACKGROUND The purposes of this study were to determine: 1) if periodontal treatment in pregnant women before 21 weeks of gestation alters levels of inflammatory mediators in serum; and 2) if changes in these mediators are associated with birth outcomes. METHODS A total of 823 pregnant women with periodontitis were randomly assigned to receive scaling and root planing before 21 weeks of gestation or after delivery. Serum obtained between 13 and 16 weeks, 6 days (study baseline) and 29 to 32 weeks of gestation was analyzed for C-reactive protein; prostaglandin E(2); matrix metalloproteinase-9; fibrinogen; endotoxin; interleukin (IL)-1 beta, -6, and -8, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Cox regression, multiple linear regression, and the t, chi(2), and Fisher exact tests were used to examine associations among the biomarkers, periodontal treatment, and gestational age at delivery and birth weight. RESULTS A total of 796 women had baseline serum data, and 620 women had baseline and follow-up serum and birth data. Periodontal treatment did not significantly alter the level of any biomarker (P >0.05). Neither baseline levels nor the change from baseline in any biomarker were significantly associated with preterm birth or infant birth weight (P >0.05). In treatment subjects, the change in endotoxin was negatively associated with the change in probing depth (P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS Non-surgical mechanical periodontal treatment in pregnant women, delivered before 21 weeks of gestation, did not reduce systemic (serum) markers of inflammation. In pregnant women with periodontitis, levels of these markers at 13 to 17 weeks and 29 to 32 weeks of gestation were not associated with infant birth weight or a risk for preterm birth.

Is human papillomavirus associated with cervical neoplasia in the elderly

There have been no studies in the United States of human papillomavirus (HPV) in elderly women. This paper presents cross-sectional data on HPV and cervical neoplasia among 232 women age 65 or more. HPV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing was performed using a modified dot-blot hybridization technique. The prevalence of HPV DNA positivity was 3.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9%, 6.0%). There were six cases of histologic cervical neoplasia. The crude odds ratio for cervical neoplasia among HPV DNA positives was 18.3 (95% CI 2.8, 120.3). The adjusted odds, controlling for age, prior screening history, current sexual activity, and past contraception use, were 12.2 (95% CI 1.2, 122.9). Ever having had a Papanicolaou smear was protective, and there was a trend for the odds of having neoplasia to increase with age. Additional studies with larger samples of elderly women are needed. If confirmed, the results suggest that, independent of past screening, HPV may increase the risk of having cervical neoplasia for elderly women.

Ovarian hemorrhage complicating warfarin sodium anticoagulant therapy

Three cases of women in the reproductive age group who received warfarin sodium therapy for pulmonary embolism are presented. The therapy was complicated by rupture of ovarian cysts with intraperitoneal hemorrhage necessitating exploratory laparatomy. The possibility of intraperitoneal hemorrhage must be considered in patients who present with abdominal pain and a history of anticoagulant therapy. Lack of awareness of the complication may result in delay in making a correct diagnosis and instituting appropriate therapy.

Mucinous neoplasm in the cervix associated with a mucinous neoplasm in the ovary and concurrent bilateral sex cord tumors with annular tubules: Immunohistochemical study

The patient described synchronous mucinous tumors of the cervix and ovary and concurrent annular tubules, but without the classical stigmata of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. The cervical tumor was an invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma with mixed components of minimal deviation and less-well-differentiated endometrioid morphology. The ovarian tumor had the benign appearance of a mucinous adenoma but histologically revealed areas of invasive carcinoma. Immunohistochemical studies of the mucinous neoplasms of the cervix and ovary are discussed. Neither the staining properties of mucin, the pattern of immunostaining for carcinoembryonic antigen, nor any other common markers were helpful in distinguishing the mucinous neoplasms. Positive immunostaining for low-molecular-weight cytokeratin in the filament profile of sex cord tumors with annular tubules was of particular interest since it has not to our knowledge been previously described.