Editor's Note Gender bias in surgery goes far beyond barriers for individuals, according to a study published April 8 in The American Journal of Surgery. Ethnographic data reveals women surgeons face entrenched structural inequities that influence their daily work lives, limit their professional standing, and shape perceptions of surgical competence,…
Editor's Note Pregnancy-related deaths in the US rose sharply from 2018 to 2022, with rates 3.8 times higher among American Indian and Alaska Native women and 2.8 times higher among non-Hispanic Black women than among White women, according to a new study published April 9 in JAMA Network Open. Researchers…
Editor's Note Insufficient awareness of drug interactions with hormonal contraceptives (HCs) among anesthesia providers could lead to unintended pregnancies and preventable health consequences, according to survey published in Anesthesia & Analgesia. Physician’s Weekly covered the news February 27. The article specifically cites sugammedex and aprepitant, both of which are widely…
Editor’s Note Pregnancy complications—including life-threatening sepsis—surged in Texas after the state banned abortion in 2021, according to a ProPublica analysis of seven years’ worth of state hospital data. In a February 20 report, the outlet details how sepsis rates for women hospitalized after second-trimester pregnancy loss rose by more than…
Editor's Note A recent survey from Orlando Health highlights limited awareness of the link between bariatric surgery and improved fertility, with only half of respondents acknowledging its benefits. According to January 16 coverage in Contemporary OB/GYN, the findings underscore a broader knowledge gap among the US population regarding the role…
Editor's Note Although women are underrepresented in high-compensation medical specialties, new research shows a significant increase in female applicants and matriculants to surgical specialties specifically. Published September 30 in JAMA Network, the study found that the proportion of women entering high-compensation surgical specialties rose from 28.8% to 42.4%. In contrast,…
Editor's Note Female patients undergoing high-risk surgeries are significantly more likely to die from postoperative complications despite experiencing complications at similar rates, according to findings published October 16 in JAMA. Observed in a cohort of 863,305 Medicare beneficiaries, this disparity suggests that clinicians may be less effective at recognizing and…
Editor's Note Tubal sterilization, often considered a permanent form of contraception, has a failure rate of 3% to 5%, leading to unplanned pregnancies in some cases, UC San Francisco reported August 27. Publishing in NEJM Evidence, university researchers report that contraceptive arm implants or intrauterine devices (IUDs) may be more reliable…
Editor's Note A recent study in JAMA Surgery showed women with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were 8% less likely than men to receive a liver transplant and 6% more likely to die or be removed from the waitlist, Healio reported September 9. The study, which analyzed 31,725 adults waitlisted for…
Editor's Note Research shows black women are 25% more likely to undergo cesarean sections (C-sections) than white women, even when presenting similar medical histories, The New York Times reported September 10. The article focuses on a study analyzing nearly one million births across 68 New Jersey hospitals. Conducted between 2008…