Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:To study the impact of an educational intervention on obstetrician-gynecologist clinicians' knowledge of racial and ethnic disparities in the menopause experience. METHODS:Twenty-five obstetrician-gynecologist physicians (residents, fellows, and attendings) at an academic medical center in New York, NY, completed the Achieving Menopausal Health Equity Network course, a brief web-based intervention consisting of four modules delivered through narrated didactic videos and interactive tools, a 10-item pretest and posttest, and a course evaluation survey. The primary outcome was a change in knowledge scores after the completion of the educational intervention. Item analysis was also performed to assess item discrimination, item difficulty, and response frequency. Feedback on modules was obtained, and thematic analysis was performed. RESULTS:In this study, 25 participants completed the educational intervention. There was a statistically significant increase in mean test scores after participation (pretest mean score=7.1/10 vs. posttest mean score=8.1/10, P =0.0021). The following themes emerged in thematic analysis: knowledge building with potential for practical application for clinicians and non-clinicians, clarity and relevance, and opportunities for growth for future iterations of the modules. CONCLUSIONS:This brief, online educational curriculum focused on racial and ethnic disparities in menopause significantly improved the knowledge of obstetrician-gynecologist clinicians at various levels of training and provides a useful model for introducing more formal training on menopause medicine for obstetrician-gynecologist clinicians.

OBJECTIVE:OVATION-2, a randomized, controlled, open label phase 1/2 study, evaluated the safety and efficacy of IMNN-001, an IL-12 immune gene therapy, with neo/adjuvant chemotherapy (N/ACT) compared to N/ACT in newly-diagnosed advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS:IMNN-001 is an immunotherapeutic nanoparticle comprising a DNA plasmid encoding the IL-12 gene encased in a lipopolymer. High-grade EOC patients were randomized 1:1 to carboplatin/paclitaxel IV every 21 days for 3 cycles, before and after interval debulking surgery (IDS) or to intraperitoneal (IP) IMNN-001, given weekly concurrently with chemotherapy for 8 weeks before and 9 weeks after IDS. RESULTS:54 and 58 patients with predominantly Stage IIIC/IV EOC were evaluated in the control and experimental arm, respectively. Primary endpoints were safety and PFS. Overall, the experimental arm was well tolerated with gastrointestinal and cytopenias as the most common TEAEs with no CRS or elevated risk of immune events. PFS was 14.9 months (mo) for the experimental arm vs 11.9 mo; HR 0.79 (95 % CI: 0.51-1.23). Secondary endpoints included OS (46.0 mo for experimental arm vs 33.0 mo; HR 0.69 (CI: 0.40-1.19)) and surgical response R0 rate (64.6 % experimental arm vs 52.1 %). For patients who received PARPi maintenance, PFS was 33.8 mo vs 22.1 mo; HR 0.80 (CI: 0.31-2.12) and OS was NE vs 37.1 mo with a HR of 0.38 (CI: 0.13-1.06) both favoring the experimental arm. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The addition of IMNN-001 to N/ACT shows a promising numerical 13-mo benefit on survival with an acceptable safety profile in patients with newly-diagnosed advanced EOC.

Many studies have addressed the inequities of gender within medicine. And although more attention has been brought to this topic in the past couple of decades, studies demonstrate that there is an equity gap in the workplace, in the research sphere, and in pay compensation. Internet searches prove that leadership in academic spaces as well as private practice both remain predominantly male. As an example, the field of gynecologic oncology is a field that specifically addresses and serves the health needs of patients who identify as women. However, although the specialty should be at the forefront of the effort to address gender inequities, it still has considerable progress to make in this area. This article seeks to describe the literature regarding gender disparities in medicine, and what gender equity can look like while laying out strategies to address the inequities that persist - using gynecologic oncology as an example.

OnabotulinumtoxinA is an FDA-approved treatment for adults with overactive bladder (OAB) who have an inadequate response to, or are intolerant of, oral pharmacotherapies including anticholinergics or beta-3 agonists. However, procedural practices of onabotulinumtoxinA intradetrusor injection vary among practitioners and can affect patient experience. To address this, a panel of six high-volume intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA providers with 100 years of combined experience convened to discuss the best office practices when treating patients with OAB. These key best practices include counseling patients on available OAB therapies, including onabotulinumtoxinA, at the initial consultation in accordance with established AUA and SUFU guidelines in a way that is easily understood. An office setting is preferred over a hospital or surgery center when performing the procedure. Staff involvement, from scheduling to post-procedure, is essential for establishing the relationships necessary to optimize patient experience and encourage compliance and retreatment. Experts generally recommend using a viscous lidocaine bladder instillation for an anesthetic 15 min prior to the reconstitution of onabotulinumtoxinA with 5 to 10 mL of normal saline. A range of one to 20 injection sites is acceptable, with a smaller number preferred. Starting in the lower bladder, experts recommend using a slower speed of injection to improve distribution and decrease patient discomfort. Subsequent treatments should be regularly scheduled at six-month intervals with the option of re-treating earlier if symptoms return, but no sooner than 12 weeks. For office intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA procedures, optimization of the patient experience by the physician and their staff, starting with the initial visit through the post-treatment follow-up, is key to long-term patient compliance.

OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to identify facilitators and barriers among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals in receiving reproductive healthcare. METHODS:Participants were recruited through social media and university groups across the US. Inclusion criteria consisted of self-identified SGM community members; aged 18-40. This included: cisgender women whose sexual orientation included gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or queer and / or individuals whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth; transgender men, non-binary people with a uterus, cisgender queen woman, and transgender woman. An initial codebook was developed utilizing inductive coding to identify key themes. RESULTS:A total of 9 focus groups were held with 67 people,5-10 people per group. Six themes were identified: 1) Barriers to high quality reproductive care, 2) Facilitators to high quality reproductive care, 3) Negative prior experiences, 4) Physical/logistical access to adequate care, 5) Emotions/trust in disclosing SGM status, and 6) Knowledge levels on SGM reproductive healthcare. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Quality reproductive health care for SGM individuals is hindered by individual, clinician, and institutional factors. The factors include individual barriers of knowledge, distrust, and dysphoria; clinician barriers knowledge gaps or discomfort; and institutional factors of false advertising of LGBTQ+ friendly practices. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS:This study impacts clinical practice through providing focused areas to better improve training and education for healthcare providers. Findings support improving clinical training on cultural humility, creating a welcoming environment, maintaining trust, and utilizing sensitive terminology.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:To determine factors associated with embryo disposition decisions at a large academic fertility center. METHODS:We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients who made final embryo disposition (discard or donation to research) between January 1, 2020, and February 28, 2024, via electronic consent. Demographic and cycle-specific variables were collected via chart review. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for data analysis (p < 0.05). RESULTS:Of 1280 patients, 900 (70.3%) discarded embryos and 380 (29.7%) donated to research. Patients who donated were more likely to have a diagnosis of recurrent pregnancy loss (6.1% vs 2.4%, p < 0.002). Patients who chose to donate had transferred more embryos (2 vs 1, p < 0.033) and had transferred more euploid embryos (44.7% vs 36.6%, p < 0.007). There was no difference in total number, number of euploids, or type of embryo disposed (p = 0.24, p = 0.96, p = 0.34). There was no difference observed among those who communicated with the center (p = 0.81) or those using donor gametes (egg p = 0.34, sperm p = 0.29). An additional analysis compared patients who achieved live birth (n = 902) to those who did not (n = 378), and those who donated were more likely to have achieved live birth (32.0% vs 24.1%, p < 0.005). CONCLUSION(S)/CONCLUSIONS:At final embryo disposition, more patients discarded embryos than donated. Donators were more likely to have recurrent pregnancy loss as their reason for pursuing embryo creation, transfer more embryos across all cycles, and achieve a live birth. Discarders were more likely to have transferred untested or no embryos.