E-Poster | Midwifery and Neonatal Care

Urinary Tract Infections Before Surgery Elevate Readmission Odds in Hysterectomy Patients: Study Shows

2025-05-30 - 2025-05

USA: A recent large-scale retrospective study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology has shed light on the impact of preoperative urinary tract infections (UTIs) on surgical outcomes in women undergoing benign hysterectomy.
"Although UTIs did not significantly increase the overall rate of postoperative complications, the findings suggest a notably higher risk of readmission within 30 days following the procedure," the researchers reported.
Preoperative urinary tract infections have been linked to adverse surgical outcomes in specific patient groups. In this context, Laura Douglass, Section of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA, and colleagues aimed to evaluate the impact of a preoperative UTI on the likelihood of 30-day postoperative complications among women undergoing benign hysterectomy.
For this purpose, the researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the 2014 to 2021 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. They identified surgeries based on CPT codes and categorized surgical indications using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. A preoperative urinary tract infection was defined as a symptomatic UTI in patients who had not yet started or were undergoing antibiotic treatment at the time of surgery.
The primary outcome measured was the occurrence of any postoperative complication within 30 days. To compare groups, statistical analyses such as the Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used for categorical variables, while the Mann-Whitney U test was applied for continuous variables.
Key Findings:
Patients with preoperative UTI were generally older and had higher rates of ASA physical status class 3 or 4.
The incidence of vaginal hysterectomy and surgical indications such as pain or prolapse was greater among those with UTI.
Operative time and reoperation rates were significantly higher in the UTI group.
Overall, 5.6% of all patients undergoing benign hysterectomy experienced a postoperative complication within 30 days.
Patients with a preoperative UTI had a higher 30-day complication rate (8.2%) compared to those without UTI (5.6%).
After adjusting for confounding factors, preoperative UTI was no longer independently associated with overall 30-day complications.
However, patients with UTI had nearly four times the odds of readmission within 30 days (adjusted OR 3.98).
The researchers concluded that although a preoperative urinary tract infection did not significantly impact the overall risk of postoperative complications, it was strongly linked to a nearly fourfold increase in 30-day readmission rates following benign hysterectomy. This highlights the importance of identifying and addressing UTIs before surgery as a potentially modifiable factor to improve surgical outcomes.

Angola: 40% of under fives suffer chronic malnutrition - survey

2025-05-19 - 2025-05

The rate of chronic malnutrition in children under 5 in Angola is 40%, up two percentage points in eight years, according to figures released on Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
According to the Multiple Indicator and Health Survey 2023-2024, budgeted at US$9.5 million (€8.4 million), in Angola 40% of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition (low height for age), and the percentage is higher in rural areas (51%).
In urban areas, the percentage of children with chronic malnutrition is 31%, according to data from the second edition of the Multiple Indicator and Health Survey (IIMS) presented today in Luanda by the Angolan INE.
Chronic malnutrition is highest in the provinces of Bie (56%), Kwanza Sul (53%), Uije (48%), Huambo (47%), Huila (47%), Kwanza Norte (47%) and Malanje (45%). Luanda, the Angolan capital, has the lowest rate in the country at 24%, while at national level the provinces have an average prevalence rate of 29%.
According to the study, chronic malnutrition in Angola will increase from 38% in 2015-2016 (the period in which the first IIMS was carried out) to 40% in 2023-2024. In this period, underweight children increased from 19% to 21% and the percentage of children with acute malnutrition remained at 5%.
Only 3% of children under 5 in Angola are overweight, the survey reads.
With regard to the nutritional status of women in Angola, the survey points out that 20% of women between the ages of 20 and 29 are thin, while 27% are overweight or obese.
"Among adolescent women aged 15-19, 21% are thin, with 5% of them being moderately or severely thin. Eight percent of adolescent women are overweight," says the study.
The Multiple Indicator and Health Survey 2023-2024 also highlights that the infant mortality and under-five mortality rates are now 32 and 52 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively, for the five-year period prior to the survey.
The neonatal mortality rate went from 24 to 16 deaths per 1,000 live births: "With these levels of mortality, one in every 19 children in Angola does not survive until their fifth birthday," the study notes.
The survey also brings together data on family planning, water, sanitation and hygiene, maternal and neonatal health care, fertility and its determinants and others.
The director general of the Angolan National Statistics Institute (INE), Joel Futi, said on the occasion that the Multiple Indicator and Health Survey 2023-2024 lasted six months, involved 189 officials throughout Angolan territory and cost the state coffers close to US$9.5 million.
"The biggest challenges, post survey, firstly have to do with our political decision-makers, the people who draw up this country's governance policies, because we know that statistical information must serve as a basis for adopting policies," he said, noting that "policies without statistics have no value".
The secretary of state for Health for Angola's Hospital Area, Leonardo Inocencio, pointed to the importance of the survey, considering that it provides essential information that will serve as a basis for evaluating the National Development Plan (PDN) 2023

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Urinary Tract Infections Before Surgery Elevate Readmission Odds in Hysterectomy Patients: Study Shows

Angola: 40% of under fives suffer chronic malnutrition - survey