Older age and low socioeconomic status were risk factors for ectopic pregnancy.

The incidence of Bartholin duct cysts and abscesses increased with age until menopause, decreasing thereafter.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a widely used fertility treatment for couples with male and/or non-male factor infertility and is a relatively simple and inexpensive procedure. When used for unexplained infertility, IUI combined with ovarian stimulation increases the pregnancy rates, but evidence does not support this to be true when applied for male factor infertility. Recently, the revised World Health Organization laboratory manual for semen criteria provided a new insight for practical guidelines. Further randomized, controlled studies are necessary to develop standardized IUI strategies. The authors reviewed, via literature search, on the indications, prognostic factors, ovarian stimulation protocols, and methods that have been employed for IUI treatment.

PurposeTo estimate the prevalence of acute appendicitis and the relationship between pregnancy and acute appendicitis among South Korean women in 2009.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study over 1 year period using a national registry data. We analyzed a national patient sample (n = 1,116,040) from a database complied by the South Korean National Health Insurance in 2009.ResultsWe identified 15,974 cases of acute appendicitis from 2009. The prevalence rate of acute appendicitis was 228 ± 2 per 100,000 persons. The prevalence in men was higher than in women. The peak prevalence of the disease in both genders occurred in patients aged 10 to 14 years. After that, prevalence declined with age. The prevalence of acute appendicitis in women aged 20 to 39 years was negatively associated with age and pregnancy (P < 0.001) but was not associated with socioeconomic status. The prevalence of perforated appendicitis cases by age is represented by a U-shaped curve. The prevalence was highest in people less than five years of age and in people older than 60 years.ConclusionWe found that the prevalence of acute appendicitis decreased with increasing age after early teens, and that the prevalence of acute appendicitis in pregnant women was lower than in nonpregnant women.

As glucocorticoids are well-known as important regulators of stress and the immune system, their function and clinical use have elicited substantial interest in the field of reproduction. In particular, the effect of glucocorticoid therapy on endometrial receptivity during assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, has led to a great deal of interest and controversy. However, previous studies have not been able to provide consistent and reliable evidence due to their small, non-controlled designs and use of different criteria. Considering the potential risk of exposure to glucocorticoids for mothers and fetuses in early pregnancy, the use of glucocorticoids in IVF cycles should be carefully evaluated, including the balance between risk and benefit. To date, there is no conclusive evidence that the use of glucocorticoids improves the pregnancy rate in IVF cycles with unselected subjects, and a further investigation should be considered with a proper study design.