BackgroundEscalation in the global rates of labour interventions, particularly cesarean section and oxytocin augmentation, has renewed interest in a better understanding of natural labour progression. Methodological advancements in statistical and computational techniques addressing the limitations of pioneer studies have led to novel findings and triggered a re-evaluation of current labour practices. As part of the World Health Organization's Better Outcomes in Labour Difficulty (BOLD) project, which aimed to develop a new labour monitoring-to-action tool, we examined the patterns of labour progression as depicted by cervical dilatation over time in a cohort of women in Nigeria and Uganda who gave birth vaginally following a spontaneous labour onset.Methods and findingsThis was a prospective, multicentre, cohort study of 5,606 women with singleton, vertex, term gestation who presented at ≤ 6 cm of cervical dilatation following a spontaneous labour onset that resulted in a vaginal birth with no adverse birth outcomes in 13 hospitals across Nigeria and Uganda. We independently applied survival analysis and multistate Markov models to estimate the duration of labour centimetre by centimetre until 10 cm and the cumulative duration of labour from the cervical dilatation at admission through 10 cm. Multistate Markov and nonlinear mixed models were separately used to construct average labour curves. All analyses were conducted according to three parity groups: parity = 0 (n = 2,166), parity = 1 (n = 1,488), and parity = 2+ (n = 1,952). We performed sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of oxytocin augmentation on labour progression by re-examining the progression patterns after excluding women with augmented labours. Labour was augmented with oxytocin in 40% of nulliparous and 28% of multiparous women. The median time to advance by 1 cm exceeded 1 hour until 5 cm was reached in both nulliparous and multiparous women. Based on a 95th percentile threshold, nulliparous women may take up to 7 hours to progress from 4 to 5 cm and over 3 hours to progress from 5 to 6 cm. Median cumulative duration of labour indicates that nulliparous women admitted at 4 cm, 5 cm, and 6 cm reached 10 cm within an expected time frame if the dilatation rate was ≥ 1 cm/hour, but their corresponding 95th percentiles show that labour could last up to 14, 11, and 9 hours, respectively. Substantial differences exist between actual plots of labour progression of individual women and the ‘average labour curves’ derived from study population-level data. Exclusion of women with augmented labours from the study population resulted in slightly faster labour progression patterns.ConclusionsCervical dilatation during labour in the slowest-yet-normal women can progress more slowly than the widely accepted benchmark of 1 cm/hour, irrespective of parity. Interventions to expedite labour to conform to a cervical dilatation threshold of 1 cm/hour may be inappropriate, especially when applied before 5 cm in nulliparous and multiparous women. Averaged labour c...

From an interprofessional perspective, our results support the idea of including dentists in the ICU team to improve oral health in critical patients and effectively prevent respiratory tract infections, in addition to the improvement achievable by applying chlorhexidine alone.

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BackgroundCaesarean section is recommended in situations in which vaginal birth presents a greater likelihood of adverse maternal or perinatal outcomes than normal. However, it is associated with a higher risk of complications, especially when performed without a clear medical indication. Since labour attendants have no standardised clinical method to assist in this decision, statistical tools developed based on multiple labour variables may be an alternative. The objective of this paper was to develop and evaluate the accuracy of models for caesarean section prediction using maternal and foetal characteristics collected at admission and through labour.MethodThis is a secondary analysis of the World Health Organization’s Better Outcomes in Labour Difficulty prospective cohort study in two sub-Saharan African countries. Data were collected from women admitted for labour and childbirth in 13 hospitals in Nigeria as well as Uganda between 2014 and 2015. We applied logistic regression to develop different models to predict caesarean section, based on the time when intrapartum assessment was made. To evaluate discriminatory capacity of the various models, we calculated: area under the curve, diagnostic accuracy, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity and specificity.ResultsA total of 8957 pregnant women with 12.67% of caesarean births were used for model development. The model based on labour admission characteristics showed an area under the curve of 78.70%, sensitivity of 63.20%, specificity of 78.68% and accuracy of 76.62%. On the other hand, the models that applied intrapartum assessments performed better, with an area under the curve of 93.66%, sensitivity of 80.12%, specificity of 89.26% and accuracy of 88.03%.ConclusionIt is possible to predict the likelihood of intrapartum caesarean section with high accuracy based on labour characteristics and events. However, the accuracy of this prediction is considerably higher when based on information obtained throughout the course of labour.

ResumoOBJETIVO: Compreender a vida sexual e reprodutiva de mulheres tratadas de câncer de mama. MÉTODOS: Foram entrevistadas 139 mulheres com diagnóstico há pelo menos seis meses, selecionadas aleatoriamente em um serviço de reabilitação. As entrevistas foram feitas entre 2006 e 2010. Todas eram usuárias do SUS, pacientes de um hospital regional e moradoras da região DRS XIII-Ribeirão Preto, Estado de São Paulo. As entrevistadas foram visitadas em seu domicílio onde foi aplicado um questionário face a face que abordava questões relativas às características sociodemográficas, da doença e da vida reprodutiva e sexual, para esta última aplicou-se o instrumento Índice de Função Sexual Feminina (IFSF). A análise estatística incluiu o teste do χ 2 , o teste exato de Fisher e o teste t de Student, análise multivariada por regressão logística e análise fatorial e alfa de Cronbach. RESULTADOS: A maioria teve entre 2 e 3 filhos e 80% utilizaram algum método anticoncepcional. Cerca de metade das mulheres tiveram relação sexual no último mês, 45,3% interromperam as relações sexuais durante o tratamento e 25,9% não interromperam. Houve relato de diminuição da frequência sexual, embora metade das entrevistadas tenha retomado a vida sexual nos primeiros seis meses após o tratamento. Pouco mais de metade apresentou insatisfação sexual. Encontrou-se vida sexual ativa associada à idade menor que 40 anos e a ter parceiro. Não foi encontrada associação entre vida sexual ativa e ao diagnóstico e tipos de tratamento. CONCLUSÃO: A atividade sexual de mulheres tratadas para câncer de mama não está associada aos tratamentos, mas à idade e à oportunidade de ter sexo. Abstract PURPOSE:To understand the reproductive and sexual life of women treated for breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 139 women with a diagnosis made at least 6 months ago were interviewed after being randomly selected in a rehabilitation service. The interviews were carried out between 2006 and 2010. The inclusion criteria were: to have used a rehabilitation service between 2006 and 2010, to be a Unified Health System user, to have been a patient at a regional hospital and to be resident in the area of DRS XIII-Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo. The interviewees were visited at home where a face to face questionnaire regarding sociodemographic features and questions about the disease and reproductive and sexual life was administered. For the last one, the Female Sexual Function Index instrument was used. Data were analyzed statistically by the χ 2 test, Fisher exact test, Student's t test, multivariate analysis by logistic regression, factorial analysis and the Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: Most patients had between 2 to 3 children and 80% used some contraceptive. About half of them had had sexual intercourse in the last month, 45.3% had interrupted sexual intercourse during treatment and 25.9% did not. There were reports of decreasing sexual activity, although half of the interviewees had re-started sexual life during the first six months after treatment. About half presen...

PURPOSE: To validate the instrument Body Image Relationship Scale (BIRS) for Brazilian women with breast cancer. METHODS: The instrument was administered by trained interviewers to 139 women who used the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). All of them had been submitted to cancer treatments between 2006 and 2010. The instrument was validated considering internal consistency and reliability. In order to compare the techniques, the same factorial analysis as used in the original paper was carried out. RESULTS: The Spearman-Brown correlation value was 0.8, indicating high internal reliability. The Cronbach's alpha found was 0.9, indicating a high level of internal consistency. Factorial analysis showed that four items had low factorial load and no discriminatory power, and another five items were relocated to other factors. When the instrument was applied, it showed variability to that of the original instrument. CONCLUSION: The Brazilian version of the Body Image Relationship Scale (BIRS), named Escala de Relacionamento e Imagem Corporal (ERIC), showed evidence of adequate reliability and internal consistency, making this instrument suitable to be recommended for application to Brazilian women with breast cancer, despite some limitations.

Background: Cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requiring hospitalization continue to appear in vulnerable populations, highlighting the importance of novel treatments. The hyperinflammatory response underlies the severity of the disease, and targeting this pathway may be useful. Herein, we tested whether immunomodulation focusing on interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, and IL-2, could improve the clinical outcomes of patients admitted with COVID-19. Methods: This multicenter, open-label, prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted in Brazil. Sixty hospitalized patients with moderate-to-critical COVID-19 received in addition to standard of care (SOC): IL-17 inhibitor (ixekizumab 80 mg SC/week) 1 dose every 4 weeks; low-dose IL-2 (1.5 million IU per day) for 7 days or until discharge; or indirect IL-6 inhibitor (colchicine) orally (0.5 mg) every 8 hours for 3 days, followed by 4 weeks at 0.5 mg 2x/day; or SOC alone. The primary outcome was accessed in the “per protocol” population as the proportion of patients with clinical improvement, defined as a decrease greater or equal to two points on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) seven-category ordinal scale by day 28. Results: All treatments were safe, and the efficacy outcomes did not differ significantly from those of SOC. Interestingly, in the colchicine group, all participants had an improvement of greater or equal to two points on the WHO seven-category ordinal scale and no deaths or patient deterioration were observed. Conclusions: Ixekizumab, colchicine, and IL-2 were demonstrated to be safe but ineffective for COVID-19 treatment. These results must be interpreted cautiously because of the limited sample size.

Aos meus pais, José Roberto de Souza e Telma Cristina Cavenague de Souza, que, a despeito de todas as diculdades, criaram a mim e a minha irmã com base em valores de caráter, fé, humildade e perseverança. Obrigada a vocês dois, os maiores responsáveis por essa realização. A minha irmã, Mayra Cavenague de Souza, companheira de toda a vida, que, com sua alegria, me fez ver com mais leveza os percalços do caminho. Ao meu namorado, Paulo Guilherme Xavier, um otimista nato, que sempre acreditou que eu era capaz de nalizar essa etapa com louvor e não hesitou em postergar planos em prol do meu sucesso. A todos os meus amigos e familiares, que souberam compreender as ausências necessárias e que sempre zeram questão de se mostrar orgulhosos de mim por este trabalho. Com muito carinho, a todos aqueles que tiveram de enfrentar ou ainda enfrentam algum tipo de câncer. Em especial, a Janayna Fernanda Restini de Alcântara, ao João Tadeu Gallo e ao Marco Aurélio de Castro Novaes, exemplos de coragem e fé, que, onde quer que estejam, deixaram um lindo legado para quem os conheceu. "Agora, pois, permanecem a fé, a esperança e o amor, estes três. Mas, o maior destes é o amor." 1 Coríntios 13-13 AGRADECIMENTOS À minha orientadora, Profa. Dra. Gleici da Silva Castro Perdoná, pela parceria e amizade criada durante o desenvolvimento desta dissertação. Sou muito grata pelos ensinamentos e pela conança que depositou em mim, mesmo nos momentos mais difíceis. À Profa. Dra. Fernanda Maris Peria, por disponibilizar o banco de dados do Registro Hospitalar do Câncer (RHC) e, principalmente, pelas sugestões dadas para melhoria desta dissertação. Às funcionárias do RHC, Rosemeire Aparecida de Oliveira de Carvalho e Patrocínia Maria David, por me receberem no setor e apresentarem todo o sistema de cadastro de pacientes. Ao Prof. Dr. Luiz Aparecido Milan, por se dispor a sanar minhas dúvidas quando assisti às aulas da disciplina de Simulação Estocástica, ministradas por ele na Universidade Federal de São Carlos. Os conhecimentos adquiridos nesse momento foram de grande importância para a realização deste trabalho. Ao colega Vinícius Fernando Calsavara, pela atenção dispensada a mim e por se dispor a compartilhar comigo suas experiências na área de sobrevida. Ao diretor do Laboratório de Epidemiologia e Estatística (LEE-IDPC), Prof. Dr. Júlio César Rodrigues Pereira, por incentivar que este trabalho fosse concluído e divulgado, mesmo que isso reetisse na minha ausência periódica como funcionária do Laboratório.