An observational study on maternal mortality and maternal near miss in a selected facility of West Bengal.

An observational study was performed at Purba Medinipur District Hospital, West Bengal, from April 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020, with an aim to find out the magnitude of maternal mortality and near miss cases and to assess the utilization of available maternal health care services by the deceased women and near miss cases. Result showed 4.5% women developed potentially life-threatening condition (PLTC) of which 21% women developed LTC. Maternal Near Miss (MNM) ratio was 9.46/1000 live birth and the MNM-to-Maternal Mortality ratio was 8.3:1 and the leading causes of MNM and maternal death were hemorrhage, pregnancy induced hypertension/eclampsia. The utilization of maternal health-care services revealed that there is a scope to increase the service delivery. Study finding indicates that health-care programs need to enhance the existing efforts to improve timely health seeking behavior of women.

Correlation of preoperative and intraoperative assessment of pelvic organ prolapse by pelvic organ prolapse quantification system.

OBJECTIVE: To correlate the measurements of pelvic organ quantification (POP-Q) score obtained preoperatively with Valsalva maneuver with POP-Q score obtained intraoperatively under anesthesia in the assessment of pelvic organ prolapse. METHODS: A prospective observational study included 25 women attending gynecology outpatient department with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse in Midnapore Medical College, India and planned for vaginal operative treatment between March 2019 and February 2020. The preoperative examination was performed in the outpatient department using the POP-Q system with Valsalva maneuver and final examination was performed under spinal anesthesia with mechanical traction. The correlation was performed using the preoperative and intraoperative measurements. RESULTS: All intraoperative POP-Q measurements showed a significantly higher descent compared with preoperative measurements (mean difference Aa 0.72 cm, Ba 1.08 cm, C 1.66 cm, Ap 0.26 cm, Bp 1.6 cm, D 1.6 cm, Gh 0.6 cm,) except for Pb and Tvl. Among all nine measurements, the greatest difference between the preoperative and intraoperative values was observed for points C, D, and Bp. CONCLUSION: Preoperative POP-Q scores significantly differed when assessed intraoperatively under spinal anesthesia with traction. The patient should be informed that the surgical plan may change depending on the intraoperative findings. Our study is an alert for both surgeons and patients.

Comparison of Fetomaternal Outcome Between Planned Vaginal Delivery and Planned Cesarean Section in Women with Eclampsia: Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: The route of termination of pregnancy in eclampsia is not clearly established. This study aims to compare the fetomaternal outcome between planned vaginal delivery and planned cesarean section in women with eclampsia after 34 weeks of gestation. METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Midnapore Medical College, West Bengal, India. 182 women with eclampsia carrying 34 weeks or more gestation were allocated to either cesarean(CD) or vaginal delivery (VD) group. The primary measure of outcome was severe maternal outcome. Secondary measures of outcome were perinatal mortality and morbidity. RESULTS: Of the 62 women allocated in vaginal delivery (VD) group, 60 women (32.97%) had vaginal delivery and 122 (67.03%) had undergone cesarean delivery (CD). Severe maternal outcome was more common in VD group in comparison with CD group (72.5% vs 27.5%, P < 0.00001 RR 2.64 OR 6.98). Perinatal outcome in relation to Apgar score at 5 min, still birth was better in CD group than VD group. Perinatal death was higher in VD group when compared with CD group (25.8%; vs. 8.33%; P = 0.002, RR 3.1 OR 3.83). CONCLUSION: There is increasing trend of delivering the eclampsia mother at > 34 weeks of gestation by cesarean section instead of inducing labor and delivering vaginally. Cesarean section when chosen as method of delivery does not increase morbidity or mortality.

Life-threatening Complications in Pregnancy in a Teaching Hospital in Kolkata, India.

OBJECTIVES: To test the application of a clinical definition of life-threatening complications in pregnancy and determine the level of near miss maternal morbidity and mortality. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted in the obstetrics and gynaecology department, NRS Medical College, Kolkata, India, to identify life-threatening complications using a modification of the Mantel's criteria. The main outcome measures were validity of identification criteria, main causes and incidence of life-threatening complications in pregnancy, maternal near miss: case fatality rates, morbidity-mortality index and use rate of effective interventions. RESULTS: In total, 177 maternal near miss and 23 maternal deaths were identified in the screened 4400 women. The incidence of near miss was 4.02%. Main causes of maternal mortality were hypertensive disorders (43%) and renal failure (21%). Main causes of near miss were hypertensive disorders (55%), ectopic pregnancy (19%). Near miss mortality index was 7.7:1. CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of women with life-threatening complications and all women who died were referred from peripheral hospitals. This signals that there may have been important failures in the referral system relating to maternal care and there is a need for further investigation.

Preoperative Ultrasound Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Ovarian Lesions- Is It a Rapid and Effective Diagnostic Modality?

INTRODUCTION: The deep seated ovarian lesions unapproachable by unguided aspiration cytology were easily done under ultrasound guidance. It gave a before hand cytological diagnosis of the lesion to the surgeon determining the modality of treatment for the patient. AIM: To find the diagnostic accuracy of the method of ultrasound guided cytological assessment of ovarian lesion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted as a prospective observational study over a period of one year, in hospital setting, where ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration had been used to aspirate ovarian lesions, giving a rapid cytological diagnosis. In 43 sample cases, aspiration of fluid done from ovarian lesions were followed by cyto-centrifugation and staining by May-Grunwald-Giemsa (MGG) and Papanicolaou (Pap) stain providing a cytological opinion regarding benign/malignant nature of the lesion and further categorization. Later the cytological diagnosis was compared with final histopathological diagnosis, taking it as a gold standard. RESULTS: The overall sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound guided aspiration and cytological analysis were high, 96%, 76.92% and 89.47% respectively as calculated by comparing the cytological diagnosis with histological diagnosis, taking it as gold standard. CONCLUSION: This method has evolved as a highly sensitive, rapid, simple and effective modality for screening and as well as accurate preoperative diagnosis of ovarian lesions.

Successful pregnancy outcome in a woman with untreated ectopia vesicae: a case report and review of literature.

We report the case of a pregnancy in a 25-year-old woman who was born with ectopia vesicae and split pelvis, but had not undergone any reconstructive or diversion surgery in childhood. Her antenatal period was uneventful and the infant was delivered by cesarean section at term due to breech presentation. The baby had no congenital anomalies. The postoperative period was uneventful and they were discharged from the hospital in a good general condition.

Primary malignant melanoma of the vagina: A case report and review of literature.

A 60 year old woman presented in gynecology department with bleeding per vagina and subsequently histotpathologically, it was diagnosed as malignant melanoma of the vagina. She underwent excision biopsy. On metastatic work-up, Positron emission tomography (PET) scan proved that she had distant metastasis and received palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy, with temozolamide. She is alive after one year.

Pregnancy complicated by maternal heart disease: a review of 281 women.

OBJECTIVES: To study maternal heart disease in an Indian setting for: (1) different etiological factors, (2) different types of lesions, and (3) maternal and perinatal outcome. METHODS: 281 women with heart disease who delivered ≥28 weeks of gestation at different teaching institutions (tertiary care centres) in India were studied. RESULTS: Rheumatic heart disease (n = 195; 69.4 %) with isolated mitral stenosis (n = 75; 26.7 %) were the commonest. Septal defect (n = 27; 9.6 %) was the predominant lesion among the congenital heart disease (n = 60; 21.3 %) patients, whereas in the miscellaneous group (n = 26; 9.2 %), ischemic heart disease (n = 10; 3.6 %) was the leading cause. Multiple cardiac lesions were also diagnosed in 100 (35.58 %) women. In 87 (31 %) women, diagnosis was made first time in labor. Majority n = 131, (46.6 %) had spontaneous vaginal delivery and few (n = 9; 3.3 %) required induction of labor. Cardiac complications were noted in 72 women (25.6 %). There were three (1.06 %) maternal deaths and perinatal mortality was 4 % (n = 11). CONCLUSION: In this study, rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy is still predominant though acquired cardiac lesions are rising. In rheumatic heart disease, mitral valve involvement was the commonest and multiple valve lesions were a major observation. Most common obstetric complication was small for gestation baby. Maternal morbidities in the unbooked women are high and congestive cardiac failure was the major cardiac complication.

Treatment of cervical carcinoma with high-dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy: two years follow-up study.

AIMS: This study focused on pelvic recurrence rate and late complications following treatment with high dose rate brachytherapy with a three fractionation scheme. SETTING AND DESIGN: This retrospective observational study was conducted from 1st November 2003 to 31st March 2005 at a tertiary care centre. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Women were treated with external beam radiotherapy and three fractions of high dose rate brachytherapy, divided into two broad groups IIB+ IIIA and IIIB+IVA. Duration of follow-up was 2 years and main outcome measures were recurrence and rectal and urinary bladder complications. Results were assessed with the Chi square test and P-values using an alpha level of 0.05 for Type I error. RESULTS: Of the total of 286 women, 72 (25.4%) developed central-regional recurrence. Overall two year pelvic control rate was 74.6%, with values of 78.1% and 72.8% for stages IIB+ IIIA, IIIB+IVA, respectively. Five women developed distant metastasis and 21.5% suffered low grade rectal complications. After two years the prevalence of bladder complications was only 5.4%. CONCLUSION: Using a three fraction scheme, high dose rate brachytherapy is safe and effective in the management of cervix cancer.

Comparison of vaginal misoprostol tablets and prostaglandin E2 gel for the induction of labor in premature rupture of membranes at term: a randomized comparative trial.

AIM: To compare immediate induction with vaginal misoprostol tablets and immediate induction with vaginal dinoprostone (naturally occurring prostaglandin E2 [PGE2]) gel in women with premature rupture of membranes (PROM) at term. METHODS: Two hundred and twelve women with PROM at term were assigned randomly to receive either an intravaginal 25 µg misoprostol tablet, 4-hourly, with a maximum of five doses, or 0.5 mg intravaginal PGE2 gel, 6-hourly, with a maximum of two doses. The primary outcome measures were the admission-to-delivery interval and the induction-to-delivery interval. Secondary outcomes included cesarean section rate, mode of delivery, and maternal and neonatal safety outcome. Results were calculated applying Fisher's exact test, χ2-test, t-test and calculating the P-value using an alpha level of 0.05 for Type I errors. RESULTS: The mean time from admission to delivery was 13.53 h in the misoprostol group and 12.30 h in the PGE2 group (P = 0.090). The induction-to-delivery interval was also comparable between the groups (10.75 h vs. 9.37 h), while the cesarean section rate did not differ significantly between them (7.61% vs. 15.30%). More women in the misoprostol group had an instrumental delivery (12.38% vs. 2.94%). The only significant difference in neonatal outcome was a greater number of babies born with Apgar score < 7 at 1 min in the misoprostol group. Maternal outcomes were not significantly different, except for a higher number of digital vaginal examinations in the misoprostol group. CONCLUSION: Vaginal misoprostol is equally efficacious in labor induction and demonstrates a similar fetal and maternal safety profile to PGE2 gel.

Utilization of therapeutic intervention to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV in a teaching hospital in Kolkata, India.

AIM: To assess the uptake of an HIV screening program and therapeutic intervention to minimize the risk of mother to child transmission. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, observational study with retrospective data obtained from patient medical records. Pregnant women presenting to a tertiary care center in Kolkata, India, from 1 January 2004 - 31 December 2007 underwent HIV serology by rapid test after receiving group counseling. Care was administered using a standard national protocol by a multi-disciplinary team of health-care personnel. Main outcome measures were: acceptance of pretest counseling and HIV testing by pregnant women attending antenatal clinic services, post-test counseling rate, coverage rate of nevirapine to mother-child pairs, and averted HIV infection in children. RESULTS: Of the 52 127 new antenatal booking visits, 49 580 (95.11%) women attended pretest counseling and 47 506 (91.13%) women accepted HIV testing. Eighty-six women were found to be seropositive. The seroprevalence rate of HIV infection was 0.17%. Thirty-seven mothers (88%) and all newborn infants (100%) had received nevirapine prophylaxis. Overall nevirapine coverage rate was 48%. Twenty-four of the mother-infant pairs that we assessed had infants who were aged over 18 months by June 2008. Eleven (45.83%) of these women turned up with their babies for a blood test at 18 months. Three (27.27%) babies tested reactive. CONCLUSION: As uptake of testing is high and detection of HIV-infected women in pregnancy remains very low, a radical rethinking of policies on therapeutic intervention and their implementation now needs to be undertaken.

A comparison of two regimens of misoprostol for second trimester medical termination of pregnancy: a randomized trial.

The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and side-effects of two regimens of vaginal misoprostol for second trimester voluntary medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) according to the MTP Act of India. A randomized trial was conducted in 185 women from January 2007 to September 2008. Women in group 1 were given vaginal misoprostol 400 microg every 6 h for a maximum of four doses. Women in group 2 were given vaginal misoprostol 400 microg every 12 h for a maximum of four doses. Our primary outcome measure was induction abortion interval. Secondary outcome measures were success rate, side-effects and completeness of procedure. Results were calculated applying Fisher's exact test, chi-square test, Z test and calculating the P value using an alpha level of 0.05 for Type I error. The mean induction abortion interval in group 1 (12.59 h) was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) than that in the group 2 (16.41 h). The percentage of women who achieved successful abortion within 12 h in group 1 (56.52%) was also significantly higher (P = 0.00005) than that in group 2 (25.80%). The incidence of side-effects was comparable and not clinically serious. It is concluded that the regimen of vaginal misoprostol 400 microg every 6 h was more effective than the regimen of misoprostol every 12 h in medical termination of second trimester pregnancy.

Comparison of intramuscular magnesium sulfate with low dose intravenous magnesium sulfate regimen for treatment of eclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to compare intramuscular (i.m.) magnesium sulfate with a low dose intravenous (i.v.) magnesium sulfate regimen in prevention of convulsion recurrence and maternal deaths in women with eclampsia. METHODS: This prospective trial was conducted in Nilratan Sircar Medical College, India from January 2001 to December 2005. All women with a clinical diagnosis of eclampsia were included in the trial. Magnesium sulfate (4 gm) was given as an i.v. loading dose, followed by either i.m. injections as recommended by Pritchard or low dose i.v. infusions (0.6 gm/h). Primary measures of outcome were recurrence of convulsions and maternal death. Secondary measures of outcome were potentially life threatening events, events related to labor and delivery as well as perinatal mortality and morbidity. RESULTS: Of the 630 women participating in the trial, 480 women received i.m. magnesium sulphate according to the Pritchard regimen and 150 women were subjected to a low dose i.v. regimen of magnesium sulphate. There was no significant difference in recurrence of convulsion (3.3% in the i.m. and 2% in the i.v. groups P = 0.586). Maternal deaths were not significantly lower in the i.v. group than the i.m. group (5% in the i.m. and 3.3% in the i.v. groups, P = 0.506) There were no significant differences in other measures of serious maternal morbidity, in perinatal morbidity or mortality. CONCLUSION: Low dose i.v. magnesium sulfate regimen is equally effective in prevention of convulsion recurrence and maternal deaths in eclamptic women when compared with an i.m. magnesium sulfate regimen.