Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the extent to which misoprostol alters mucosal or systemic immune responses following either buccal or vaginal administration.Methods: This was a prospective, crossover pilot study of 15 healthy, reproductive-age women. Women first received 800 μg misoprostol either via buccal or vaginal administration and were crossed over 1 month later to receive the drug via the other route. Cervicovaginal lavage samples, cervical Cytobrush samples, cervicovaginal swabs, urine and blood were obtained immediately prior to drug administration and the following day. Parameters assessed included urine and cervicovaginal misoprostol levels, whole blood cytokine responses (by ELISA) to immune stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, peripheral blood and cervical lymphocyte phenotyping by flow cytometry, cervicovaginal antimicrobial peptide measurement by ELISA and vaginal microbial ecology assessment by 16S rRNA sequencing.Results: Neither buccal nor vaginal misoprostol significantly altered local or systemic immune and microbiological parameters.Conclusion: In this pilot study, we did not observe significant alteration of mucosal or systemic immunology or vaginal microbial ecology 1 day after drug administration following either the buccal or vaginal route.
Abstract Objective To investigate the prevalence, extent, and severity of oral‐health‐related quality of life among dental patients in far north Queensland, Australia. Methods A questionnaire was designed consisting of two parts: socio‐demographic questions and the short form of Oral Health Impact Profile ( OHIP ‐14) in part 1 and 2 respectively. The survey was conducted from July to August 2014 among patients attending the James Cook University Dental Clinic. Results Five hundred and nineteen questionnaires were distributed and collected. Of these, 40 were excluded from the analysis due to being incomplete. Therefore, a total of 479 questionnaires were available for the analysis. Half the respondents (50.9%) reported one or more of the 14 impacts as “fairly often” or “very often.” The individual OHIP items with the highest prevalence recorded were physical pain and psychological discomfort. Females (52.2%) experienced a slightly higher prevalence compared to males (49.3%) but this difference was not statistically significant (Chi‐square test: P > 0.05). Participants who identified as Indigenous Australian or Torres Strait Islanders and those in the 36–50 age group recorded the highest prevalence (Kruskal–Wallis test: P < 0.05). Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders also reported the highest mean extent score (4.39) and mean severity score (23.19). Conclusion This study revealed comparatively higher prevalence, extent, and severity scores reflecting a significantly poor oral‐health‐related quality of life among dental patients living in far north Queensland, Australia.
To characterize the presence of Clostridium sordellii and Clostridium perfringens in the vagina and rectum, identify correlates of presence, and describe strain diversity and presence of key toxins.We conducted an observational cohort study in which we screened a diverse cohort of reproductive-aged women in the United States up to three times using vaginal and rectal swabs analyzed by molecular and culture methods. We used multivariate regression models to explore predictors of presence. Strains were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and tested for known virulence factors by polymerase chain reaction assays.Of 4,152 participants enrolled between 2010 and 2013, 3.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.9-4.0) were positive for C sordellii and 10.4% (95% CI 9.5-11.3) were positive for C perfringens at baseline. Among the 66% with follow-up data, 94.7% (95% CI 88.0-98.3) of those positive for C sordellii and 74.4% (95% CI 69.0-79.3) of those positive for C perfringens at baseline were negative at follow-up. At baseline, recent gynecologic surgery was associated with C sordellii presence, whereas a high body mass index was associated with C perfringens presence in adjusted models. Two of 238 C sordellii isolates contained the lethal toxin gene, and none contained the hemorrhagic toxin gene. Substantial strain diversity was observed in both species with few clusters and no dominant clones identified.The relatively rare and transient nature of C sordellii and C perfringens presence in the vagina and rectum makes it inadvisable to use any screening or prophylactic approach to try to prevent clostridial infection.ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01283828.
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