Background: To evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain relief methods and to compare them. Materials and methods: 258 women were included in the study and interviewed using a questionnaire and the visual analogue scale for pain. They were divided into six groups depending on chosen method of labour pain relief: epidural anaesthesia (EA; n = 42), water immersion and water birth (WB; n = 40), nitrous oxide gas for pain control (G; n = 40), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) (n = 50), multiple management (MM; n = 42), none (N; n = 44). Results: The average age of the women was 29.4 ± 3.74 years and 60.47% of them were nulliparous (n = 156). Mean values of labour pain intensity were 6.81 ± 2.26 during the first stage of labour; 7.86 ± 2.06 during the second stage, and 3.22 ± 2.46 during the third stage. There was no significant difference in pain level between epidural analgesia and gas groups in the first stage of labour (p = 0.74). Nevertheless, epidural analgesia reduced pain level during the second and third stage (both p < 0.01). The highest satisfaction level pertains to water immersion (n = 38; 95%). Conclusion: Epidural analgesia is the gold standard of labour pain relief, however water birth was found to be associated with the highest satisfaction level of the parturient women. The contentment of childbirth depends not only on the level of experienced pain, but also on the care provided to the parturient during pregnancy and labour.

Sexual activity during pregnancy is determined by emotional, psychosocial, hormonal, and anatomical factors and varies during trimesters. This work aimed to establish women’s sexual activity during each trimester of pregnancy. A total of 624 women were included in the study and filled in the questionnaire three times, once during each trimester of pregnancy. The first part of the survey included questions about socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric history, and medical details of a given pregnancy. The second part was the Polish version of the female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire. Comparison of the mean scores for the overall sexual function of each trimester revealed clinically relevant sexual dysfunction in the second and third trimesters (mean values 25.9 ± 8.7 and 22.7 ± 8.7, respectively; p < 0.01). Women were most sexually active during their second trimester. In the first trimester of pregnancy, women were most likely to choose intercourse in the missionary position. Women with vocational education were characterized by the lowest and homogenous FSFI values. Total FSFI score depended on the martial status—the highest value pertained to married women (25.2 ± 6.9; p = 0.02).

Background and Objectives: assessment systems, such as the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scale, are routinely used in intensive care units (ICUs) worldwide in order to predict patients’ outcome. We aimed to investigate SOFA’s usefulness in the prognostication of ICU mortality, including an analysis of the importance of its variables. Materials and Method: this single-centre observational study covered 905 patients that were admitted from 01.01.2015 to 31.12.2017 to a tertiary mixed ICU. The SOFA score was calculated on ICU admission. The worst results recorded within 24 h post admission were included into the calculation. The assessment was performed within subgroups of surgical (SP) and non-surgical patients (NSP). The subjects were followed-up until ICU discharge or death. ICU mortality was considered to be the outcome. Results: ICU mortality reached 35.4% (i.e., 320 deceased out of 905 ICU stays) and it was significantly lower in SP (n = 158, 25.3%) as compared with NSP (n = 162, 57.9%) (p < 0.001). A one-point increase in the SOFA score resulted in 1.35 times higher risk of death in the ICU in the whole studied population. Among the individual variables of SOFA, creatinine concentration was the most powerful in prognostication (OR = 1.92) in univariate analysis, while the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score appeared to be the most important variable in multivariate analysis (OR = 1.8). Mortality prediction using consecutive SOFA variables differed between SP and NSP, as well as between men and women. Conclusions: The overall SOFA score predicts mortality to a similar extent in both surgical and non-surgical subjects. However, there are significant differences in prognostication using its particular components.

Background: The Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scales are scoring systems used in intensive care units (ICUs) worldwide. We aimed to investigate their usefulness in predicting short- and long-term prognosis in the local ICU. Methods: This single-center observational study covered 905 patients admitted from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017 to a tertiary mixed ICU. SAPS II, APACHE II, and SOFA scores were calculated based on the worst values from the first 24 h post-admission. Patients were divided into surgical (SP) and nonsurgical (NSP) subjects. Unadjusted ICU and post-ICU discharge mortality rates were considered the outcomes. Results: Baseline SAPS II, APACHE II, and SOFA scores were 41.1 ± 20.34, 14.07 ± 8.73, and 6.33 ± 4.12 points, respectively. All scores were significantly lower among SP compared to NSP (p < 0.05). ICU mortality reached 35.4% and was significantly lower for SP (25.3%) than NSP (57.9%) (p < 0.001). The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.826, 0.836, and 0.788 for SAPS II, APACHE II, and SOFA scales, respectively, for predicting ICU prognosis, and 0.708, 0.709, and 0.661 for SAPS II, APACHE II, and SOFA, respectively, for post-ICU prognosis. Conclusions: Although APACHE II and SAPS II are good predictors of ICU mortality, they failed to predict survival after discharge. Surgical patients had a better prognosis than medical ICU patients.

Objectives: Using anti-androgenic contraception is one of the methods of birth control. It also has a significant, non-contraceptive impact on women's body. These drugs can be used in various endocrinological disorders, because of their ability to reduce the level of male hormones.The aim of our study is to establish a correlation between taking different types of anti-androgenic drugs and intensity of hirsutism, acne, menstrual pain intensity and sexuality .Material and methods: 570 women in childbearing age that had been using oral contraception for at least three months took part in our research. We examined women and asked them about quality of life, health, direct causes and effects of that treatment, intensity of acne and menstrual pain before and after. Our research group has been divided according to the type of gestagen contained in the contraceptive pill: dienogest, cyproterone, chlormadynone and drospirenone. Additionally, the control group consisted of women taking oral contraceptives without antiandrogenic component. Results:The mean age of the studied group was 23 years ± 3.23. 225 of 570 women complained of hirsutism.The mean score for acne intensity before the use of contraception was 2.7 ± 1.34. The mean score for acne intensity after 3 months of using contraception was 1.85 ± 1.02 (p < 0.001). 192 women reported excess hairiness in one or more area before treatment. Mean value based on Ferriman-Gallway scale before the treatment was 6.23 ± 6.21 and 5.39 ± 5.6 after the treatment (p < 0.001). Conclusions:All groups of drugs effectively reduced pain and acne severity. Cyproterone and drospirenone turned out as the most effective drugs in treating hirsutism. Surprisingly, according to our research, dienogest does not have any impact on body hairiness.