HIV-related stigma was experienced by more than one-third of respondents, including in HIV care settings. High rates of stigma experienced by key populations (such as MSM and sex workers) impeded access to HIV services. Many PLHIV also demonstrated resilience per the new PLHIV Resilience Scale.

The Stigma Index 2.0 is now more relevant to the current context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and response. Results will be critical for addressing gaps in program design and policies that must be overcome to support PLHIV engaging in services, adhering to antiretroviral therapy, being virally suppressed, and leading healthy, stigma-free lives.

The Stigma Index 2.0 is now more relevant to the current context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and response. Results will be critical for addressing gaps in program design and policies that must be overcome to support PLHIV engaging in services, adhering to antiretroviral therapy, being virally suppressed, and leading healthy, stigma-free lives.

Cervical stenosis can jeopardize adequate posttreatment cytologic follow-up of patients treated for high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions. An impact on human papillomavirus (HPV) testing has not been described.

We describe 2 patients with cervical stenosis, followed by cytology and HPV co-testing after excisions of high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions. Each had 1 or more co-test “double-negative” results. Hysterectomies revealed unexpected cervical carcinomas.

In case 1, an 80-year-old woman with complete cervical stenosis and earlier high-grade squamous dysplasia presented with abdominal pain, nausea, and an enlarged uterus. Attempted endometrial biopsy was unsuccessful. Cytology and HPV tests 9 months earlier were negative. Hysterectomy revealed a cervical squamous carcinoma. In case 2, a 40-year-old woman followed conservatively after excision of endocervical adenocarcinoma in situ had 5 follow-up cytology and HPV co-tests. All were HPV negative. Elective hysterectomy revealed cervical adenocarcinoma. Both carcinomas tested HPV positive.

Cervical stenosis in women developing cervical cancer can cause misleading sampling and false-negative HPV test results.

Cervical stenosis in women developing cervical cancer can cause misleading sampling and false-negative HPV test results.

The aims of the study were to identify whether obese women are less appropriately screened for cervical cancer before diagnosis and to explore related cancer outcomes.

We retrospectively reviewed all cervical cancer patients at a single institution between 1986 and 2016 and collected demographic information including age, cancer stage, body mass index (BMI), screening information, and cancer outcomes. Morbid obesity was defined as BMI of 40 kg/m or greater, obesity as BMI of 30 to less than 40 kg/m, and nonobese as BMI of less than 30 kg/m. χ, Fisher exact, and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare variables between BMI categories. Cox regression models were used to evaluate recurrence-free survival and overall survival (OS).

A total of 1,080 patients were reviewed, of whom 311 (29.4%) were obese and 107 (10.1%) morbidly obese. A significant association between BMI and cytology screening was evidenced with morbidly obese women having the highest incorrect rate (64.4%), followed by obese (51.5%) and nonobese women (46.0%, p < .01). There was no significant difference in presence of symptoms at presentation (p = .12) or stage (p = .06) between BMI categories. In multivariable analysis of cancer outcomes, higher BMI was associated with worse OS (p < .01) with a hazard ratio of 1.25 (95% CI = 0.92-1.69) for obese women and hazard ratio 2.27 (95% CI = 1.56-3.31) for morbidly obese women relative to normal weight but recurrence-free survival did not differ between BMI groups (p = .07).

Our study strengthens evidence that obese and morbidly obese women have disproportionate inappropriate screening before cervical cancer diagnosis, and morbidly obese women have worse OS than their counterparts.

Our study strengthens evidence that obese and morbidly obese women have disproportionate inappropriate screening before cervical cancer diagnosis, and morbidly obese women have worse OS than their counterparts.

The aim of this survey was to evaluate the different surgical approaches for women with high-grade vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (HG-VaIN) used in 8 hospitals in central and northern Italy in the last 20 years. In particular, the baseline characteristics of the patients and factors potentially leading to excisional treatment rather than ablation were considered. Cariprazine mw Moreover, the clinical outcome of patients treated for HG-VaIN (disease persistence or recurrence and progression toward invasive vaginal cancer) was analyzed.

The medical records of all women initially diagnosed with HG-VaIN and subsequently treated in 8 Italian hospitals from January 1996 to December 2016 were analyzed in a multicenter retrospective case series.

Among the 226 women included, 116 (51.3%) underwent ablative procedures and 110 underwent excisional surgery (48.7%). An ablative procedure was preferred in cases where multiple lesions were found on colposcopic examinations. Physicians decided more frequently to perform excisionalIn any case, long-term follow-up is advisable in women treated for HG-VaIN.

To investigate the dilated choroidal veins (DCVs) at or around myopic macular neovascularizations (MNVs) and to determine whether there is a hemodynamic relationship between them.

58 eyes of 57 patients with myopic MNVs were examined. DCVs were defined as choroidal veins whose diameter was 2X larger than adjacent veins. Indocyanine green angiography and swept-source OCT images were reviewed to detect DCVs that crossed the subfoveal area. The filling sequence of the DCVs and MNVs was determined.

Patient mean age was 71.4±10.6 years. Mean axial length was 29.3±1.8 mm. DCVs below or around the MNV were found in 17 eyes (29.3%). Emissaries of the short posterior ciliary arteries (SPCAs) were seen at or around MNVs in 8 of the 17 eyes. In these eyes, the SPCA was filled first or almost simultaneously with the filling of the MNV followed by a laminar filling of the DCVs. In one eye, afferent arterioles from the SPCAs and efferent venules connected to DCVs were seen.

DCVs are present below or around MNVs in about 30% of eyes with myopic MNV.