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Mary Jane Minkin

Publications and source records attributed to Mary Jane Minkin.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Protect yourself from malpractice suits.

There are many areas in the practice of gynecology that can lead to malpractice lawsuits for a practitioner who is not careful, even if he or she practices good medicine. Potential risks include failure to diagnose cancer, not following up with patients, failure to thoroughly check test results, and not keeping proper documentation. The cautious physician will attend to every problem that a patient presents, make sure that patients follow instructions, keep meticulous documentation, and always follow up to make sure his or her patient is progressing well.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2004

On the reliability and validity of physician ratings for vulvodynia and the discriminant validity of its subtypes.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to test the reliability and validity of physician ratings in a broadly defined sample of women with vulvodynia and to examine the external validity of the vulvodynia subtypes. DESIGN: Participants were 50 women who were independently diagnosed with vulvodynia by two study gynecologists. Physician ratings corresponding to Friedrich's three criteria for vulvar vestibulitis were taken at the two examinations. Each participant's diagnosis was subtyped as vulvar vestibulitis (VV) or dysesthetic vulvodynia (DV) based upon the physician ratings. Participants completed standardized measures of pain, sexual function, psychological function, and quality of life to examine the discriminant validity of the subtypes. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability for the physician ratings of Friedrich's three criteria was stable for two of the three criteria (i.e., pain on attempted vaginal entry and tenderness to pressure localized within the vulvar vestibule). When these criteria were used to categorize participants as having VV or DV, the subtypes were not statistically different for measures used to examine the discriminant validity of the subtypes. While the distribution of patients changed when premenopausal state was added to the inclusion criteria for VV, the subtypes differed little on the outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the present study suggest that physician ratings for Friedrich's criteria can be operationalized and found to be reliable and valid in a wide range of women with vulvodynia. The absence of differences between subtypes on measures of pain, sexual function, psychological function, and quality of life challenge the clinical significance of these subtypes and support the theory that vulvodynia represents a continuum of chronic vulvar pain rather than two distinct entities.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Considerations in the choice of oral vs. transdermal hormone therapy: a review.

The benefit/risk profile of postmenopausal hormone therapy has been under greater scrutiny since Women's Health Initiative study data were published in July 2002. A nominal analysis showed the study drug, a combination of 0.625 mg conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) and 2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), to be associated with decreased risks of colorectal cancer and osteoporotic hip fractures but increased risks of coronary heart disease, stroke and venous thromboembolic events. This same profile was not seen in the estrogen-only arm of the study, and the trial investigators cautioned that the results observed with CEE/MPA might not apply to other dosages of combined hormone therapy, other types of estrogens and progestins, or other routes of administration. However, the unexpected results cast a long shadow of doubt over the safety of all hormone therapy, making it difficult for reproductive health care professionals to counsel women on the selection of appropriate treatment of vasomotor symptoms. A review of the literature suggests that not all estrogens and progestins are alike, and alternative drugs, doses and delivery systems may exhibit better safety profiles than CEE/MPA, with no loss of efficacy. Selection of therapy should be individualized, based on patients' specific needs and global health risks. When there is a compelling need for relief of climacteric symptoms, using the lowest effective dose of hormonal therapy remains a prudent recommendation.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing sexual function and dyspareunia with the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in women with vulvodynia.

Using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI; Rosen et al., 2000), we assessed forty-two women with vulvodynia. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alphas = 0.90-0.97) for all scales. We compared scale scores to published healthy and patient sample data and found very large effect sizes (1.15-2.83), which indicated that women with vulvodynia reported significantly worse overall sexual function than women without sexual dysfunction and greater pain with sexual intercourse than women with female sexual arousal disorder. Results highlight difficulties experienced across all domains of sexual function, particularly with regard to dyspareunia, for women with vulvodynia. Findings also support the internal consistency and discriminant validity of the FSFI.

Adolescent↗