Benign mesenchymal tumors of the urinary bladder are extremely rare. This is a case of a 56- year old female presenting with an enlarging abdomen initially managed as a case of an ovarian new growth. Aside from the ruptured ovarian mass, a urinary bladder mass was also noted intraoperatively and a surgical dilemma was resolved by imaging review. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy, enterolysis, total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingooophorectomy, and partial cystectomy. Final histopathology identified the bladder tumor to be a leiomyoma. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course. Awareness of this clinical entity and presentation will aid in diagnosis and management.
Leiomyoma

Background and Objectives: Ensuring the total well-being of healthcare workers (HCWs), including their mental health and psychological well-being, is an essential aspect in the delivery of patient care and the preservation of the health workforce. This study aimed to determine the level of mental well-being and emotional state of HCWs in terms of depression, anxiety, and stress using the DASS-21 scale in a tertiary government hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines and to identify the job-related factors that may be associated with these outcomes. Methods: This is an analytical, cross-sectional study among HCWs involved in direct patient care in a tertiary government hospital in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection was conducted from February to March 2022 through an online self-administered questionnaire, which included the Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire (DCSQ), and the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). This was sent to doctors, nurses, and allied medical workers actively working in the clinical areas. All responses were collected and analyzed. Results: Three hundred sixty-four healthcare workers were included in the study. Majority were single (62.62%), living with immediate family (50.82%), and working in a COVID-designated area (62.09%). High prevalence of depression (49.18%), anxiety (61.54%), and stress (30.22%) was found among the HCWs. Work in high infection/COVID-designated areas was significantly associated with anxiety and stress, and high-job demand was significantly associated with all three mental health states compared to low job-demand. Conclusion Focus should be placed on modifying the condition of high job demand among healthcare workers working in hospitals. This includes ensuring optimum staffing levels and patient to HCW ratio which avoids HCWs from being subjected to high workloads and time pressures that subsequently increase risk for stress, anxiety, and depression.
Mental Health ; Depression ; Anxiety ; Health Personnel ; COVID-19

Background and Objectives: Surgical site infection (SSI) makes up the largest single group of postoperative infective complications. For surgeries classified as clean surgeries of the head and neck, such as a thyroidectomy, the routine administration of antimicrobial prophylaxis is not recommended. Despite this, extended usage of antibiotics is common in developing countries. This study evaluated the need for antibiotics in elective transcervical thyroidectomy for the prevention of SSI in a tertiary government hospital in a developing country. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that included patients who have undergone elective transcervical thyroidectomy at the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) of the University of the Philippines - Philippine General (UP-PGH) Hospital from August 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022. Data collection was conducted through review of both in-patient and out-patient records. Results: The data of 58 patients were analyzed. The mean (±SD) age was 42.5±14.5 years, with approximately 2:27 male to female ratio. Of the 58 patients, 26 were given postoperative antibiotics while 32 did not receive postoperative antibiotics. None of the 58 were noted to have SSI on the 3rd postoperative day. Only 54 patients completed the 7-day follow-up of the study and their data were further analyzed. One patient had SSI. There was no significant difference between the presence and absence of postoperative antibiotics in relation to SSI (p-value>0.05). Conclusion This study shows that in patients undergoing transcervical thyroidectomies, there is no significant difference in the occurrence of SSI among patients who received and did not receive postoperative antibiotics. Therefore, there is no need to administer postoperative antibiotics, as long as a sterile surgical technique is ensured.
Surgical Wound Infection ; Thyroidectomy

Neoplasms of the urachus are uncommon, consisting of only 0.17% of all bladder malignancy. Mucinous cystic tumor of low malignant potential (MCLTMP) is a rare subtype with only 26 cases reported in the literature as of 2023. These tumors may present in a variety of ways such as hematuria, mucusuria, lower abdominal pain and irritative lower urinary tract symptoms. This is a case of 43-year-old female presenting at the emergency room for abdominal pain initially managed as a case of ovarian new growth in complication who underwent exploratory laparotomy, adhesiolysis, bilateral salpingectomy, partial cystectomy enbloc removal of urachal with anterior peritonectomy and excision of umbilicus. Histopathologic examination revealed mucinous cystic tumor of low malignant potential (MCLTMP) of the urachus. It is important to consider the possibility of a ruptured urachal cyst in a female patient who presents with hypogastric abdominal pain. A transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound may lead to an incorrect diagnosis. In such cases where the patient presented with an acute abdomen, knowledge that a ruptured urachal cyst maybe a differential for such masses would lead to a strategic laparotomy incision aimed at a possible en-bloc removal of the umbilicus while maintaining the connections of the possible urachal mass to the urinary bladder.