Dana-Liana Stoian

Background Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is a highly prevalent health disorder and no self-report questionnaire on female sexual function is available in Romanian. Therefore we considered the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) to be the most appropriate due to its excellent psychometric properties. The FSFI is a measuring scale with 19 items that assess the six domains of female sexual function: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain. The paper aims to analyze the psychometric reliability and validity of the FSFI-RO (Romanian Version of the Female Sexual Function Index). Methods 385 women (aged 18 to 51) enrolled in the present study. To assess the presence of FSD we used the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) criteria for sexual dysfunction. Then we categorized the participants into two groups: the FSD group (41%) and the healthy control group (59%). Women were then asked to fill out a form that included sociodemograph...

Background: Toxoplasma gondii (TG), a zoonotic protozoan parasite, belongs to a group of TORCH infectious agents, which can cause severe damage to the fetus if a primary infection occurs during pregnancy. After primary infection, TG rests lifelong in human organisms causing a latent infection. Most studies have analyzed the consequences of acute, but not latent, TG infection. This study analyzed the impact of latent toxoplasmosis on spontaneous abortion history, pregnancy complication rate and neonatal outcome. Methods: IgG and IgM anti-TG antibodies were tested in 806 pregnant women who were consulted at the Timisoara Clinical Emergency Hospital between 2008 and 2010. Demographic data, obstetrical history, and data about the pregnancy complications, birth and neonate were collected for each woman and comparisons between the groups, with and without latent TG infection, were made. Results: This study did not show differences between groups regarding the history of spontaneous aborti...

Fetal goitrous hypothyroidism is a rare condition associated with important obstetrical, neonatal complications, and neurodevelopmental impairments. Prenatal treatment remains controversial, and the risk to benefit ratio must be accurately assessed and considered for individualized management. The objective of this review was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of the conservative in utero treatment of fetal goitrous hypothyroidism. In total, 25 reports that met our inclusion criteria were selected and the management of 38 cases was analyzed. Prenatal diagnosis consisted mainly of ultrasonographic findings. Fetal thyroid status was assessed by cordocentesis. Prenatal treatment varied widely in terms of levothyroxine (LT4) route of administration, dosage, number of injections, and frequency. Although different regimens and routes of administration were proposed, they seem to have similar results regarding fetal goiter reduction and thyroid status at birth. At birth...

Inflammatory mechanisms are involved in achieving a normal pregnancy and in the development of certain pregnancy complications. These changes are more intense in pregnant women that suffer of pregnancy complications, such as spontaneous preterm birth (SPB). This study compared the course of inflammatory markers (IM) [neopterin (Neo), neopterin/creatinine ratio (Neo/Cre), C-reactive protein (CRP), and chitotriosidase (Chito)] serum concentration in the early pregnancy of women with birth at term (BT) and preterm birth (PB). IM concentration was measured in 90 sera sampled from 45 pregnancies with BT and 30 sera from 15 pregnancies with PB. Two sera were sampled from each pregnant woman: one in the first trimester and another one in the second trimester. Early pregnancy IM concentration showed a direct correlation with gestational age: Neo (rho=0.262, P=0.004), Neo/Cre (rho=0.372, P<0.001), CRP (rho=0.187, P=0.041), and Chito (rho=0.039, P=0.66). The correlation was present in both...

Fetal goitrous hypothyroidism is a rare condition associated with important obstetrical, neonatal complications, and neurodevelopmental impairments. Prenatal treatment remains controversial, and the risk to benefit ratio must be accurately assessed and considered for individualized management. The objective of this review was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of the conservative in utero treatment of fetal goitrous hypothyroidism. In total, 25 reports that met our inclusion criteria were selected and the management of 38 cases was analyzed. Prenatal diagnosis consisted mainly of ultrasonographic findings. Fetal thyroid status was assessed by cordocentesis. Prenatal treatment varied widely in terms of levothyroxine (LT4) route of administration, dosage, number of injections, and frequency. Although different regimens and routes of administration were proposed, they seem to have similar results regarding fetal goiter reduction and thyroid status at birth. At birth...

Due to the elevated prevalence of the solid thyroid nodules in a general population, an appropriate selection of cases referred to surgery is of paramount importance. The main aim of our study was to evaluate the performance of the Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) as a differential diagnosis tool for thyroid nodules. We evaluated 174 nodules using TI-RADS risk stratification model, using conventional ultrasound and real time elastography parameters and linear multifrequency probe (Hitachi Preirus Machine, Hitachi Inc., Japan). All the nodules were classified using the TI-RADS system according to echogenicity, margins, shapes, calcification, lymph nodes, and increased strain ration. The results were compared with the pathology exam, which was considered the golden standard diagnosis. The prevalence of malignant nodules was 16.7% (29 cases). The differential diagnosis performance regarding the malignant tumor for TI-RADS is appropriate for clinical use, obtaining an area under ROC curve of 0.95761 [0.8424-0.989] 95% confidence interval. Combining TI-RADS 2, 3 and 4A as probably benign and TI-RADS 4B and 5 as probably malignant, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 97.93%, 86.20%, 97.26% and 89.28% respectively. The overall accuracy of the method was 95.97%.According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Guidelines, 169 cases required FNAB examination; by applying the TI-RADS scoring system, the necessity for FNAB would decrease to 74 cases. Quantitative strain elastography, as the 6th parameter of TI-RADS system, adds diagnostic power to the risk stratification model.