Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34804637›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of MCH and AIDS2021

A Comparison of Postoperative Surgical Outcomes among Women Undergoing Obstetric Fistula Repair with and without HIV.

Prakash R Ganesh, Rachel Mernoff, Renske Dikkers, William Nundwe, Rachel Pope

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of MCH and AIDS, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Prakash R GaneshDepartment of Family Medicine and Community Health, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA.
Rachel MernoffUC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program, 533 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco CA 94143, USA.
Renske DikkersAmphia Hospital, Molengracht 21, 4818 CK Breda, The Netherlands.
William NundweBaylor Foundation, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Rachel PopeUrology Institute, Division of Female Sexual Health, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, USA.
Amphia Ziekenhuis · NLLighthouse Trust · MWUniversity Hospitals of Cleveland · USUniversity of California, Berkeley · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectiveObstetric fistula affects approximately 2 million women worldwide, predominantly in places with a high Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) burden. In Malawi, where thousands of women live with fistulas, HIV prevalence is 11-13%. Although repair is usually successful, surgical outcomes among immunocompromised women are poorly understood. Inconsistent guidelines regarding the Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4) threshold necessary for repair make it difficult for surgeons to make informed decisions. This study compares the postoperative outcomes of women undergoing obstetric fistula repair with and without HIV, stratified by CD4 count.

methodsThis is a retrospective case-control study using a database of women who underwent vesicovaginal fistula repair at the Fistula Care Center from 2010-2018. HIV-positive participants, stratified by CD4<350 and CD4>350, were matched to HIV-negative controls by age within 5 years and Goh classification. Controls were matched to cases in a 3:1 ratio. Bivariate analysis and logistic regression were conducted on indicators based on HIV status and CD4 count stratification. Outcomes included dye test results, pad weights, and continence status at 2 weeks post-repair.

results54 seropositive women were matched to 135 seronegative women. Of the 54 HIV positive women, 22.2% (n=12) had a CD4 count < 350. We found no statistically significant difference in surgical outcomes between HIV-positive and negative patients. 93.5% of HIV positive and 90% of HIV negative women healed completely. In our sub-analysis of 12 seropositive women with CD4<350, we found a statically significant difference in successful closure, with 25% of women with CD4<350 having a positive dye test indicating incomplete closure, compared to 2.8% of women with CD4>350 (p=0.024). CONCLUSION AND GLOBAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: Our analysis confirms previous research indicating that seropositive women with a CD4>350 can safely undergo obstetric fistula repair. Further research is needed to evaluate postoperative outcomes among women with CD4<350.

Indexed as

AIDSCD4Fistula RepairHIVMalawiObstetric FistulaSub-Saharan AfricaSurgical OutcomesVesicovaginal Fistula

Identifiers

PMID34804637
PMCPMC8590090
OpenAlexW3208386247

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.