The effect of introduction of a guideline on the management of vaginal discharge and in particular bacterial vaginosis in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the commonest cause of vaginal discharge, and its association with obstetric and gynaecological complications is being recognized increasingly. It was our impression that BV was poorly understood and underdiagnosed in family practice. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the management of patients with vaginal symptoms by family practitioners and to see if the management changed after the assimilation of best practice guidelines. METHOD: Family practitioners were invited to complete a baseline questionnaire of their perceived practice, and to record actual practice when consulted about vaginal symptoms, for a minimum of 4 weeks. Consensus best practice guidelines were then provided and practice recorded for a similar period. RESULTS: Baseline data was received from 34 practitioners and suggested that the symptoms and signs of different vaginal infections were not well known. Most symptomatic patients were only investigated at re-presentation with unresolved symptoms or at recurrence, and 43% of respondents treated with empirical antifungals as a first line approach. Pregnant patients were only occasionally asked about symptoms and only occasionally examined if symptomatic. Pre-guideline practice data from 30 practitioners showed 1.2 patient consultations/week, of which 60% were examined and 55% had a high vaginal swab (HVS) sent. Only 2% had near-patient tests done. Post-guideline data from 23 family practitioners showed a lower recorded consultation rate at 0.7/week, but 90% of these were examined, 77% had an HVS sent and 69% had near-patient tests done. Of the 36 HVS examined by Gram stain, 19 (53%) showed Lactobacillus predominant flora and 10 (28%) suggested BV. Seven (19%) were borderline or ungradable. Only three (8%) showed yeasts, one of which also showed BV. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline data supported our impression that BV was under-recognized. Guidelines appeared to improve the rate of investigation of women consulting with vaginal symptoms.

A retrospective study of the relationship between childhood asthma and respiratory infection during gestation.

BACKGROUND: Wheeze in children has been found to be associated with prior antepartum haemorrhage and raised levels of IgE in cord blood, and acute wheezing episodes are intimately linked with respiratory viral infections. OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between maternal presentation with respiratory tract infections in pregnancy and childhood asthma, taking into account factors which could affect presentation. METHODS: This was a case-control study of 200 asthmatic children, 5-16-year-old, age-matched with one control, having no recorded history of wheeze. Data on respiratory tract infections, maternal wheeze, atopy and smoking was collected from primary care records. Deprivation score was assessed according to small residential areas and subjects were equally distributed between four general practices in Plymouth, UK. RESULTS: Presentation with respiratory tract infections during pregnancy was significantly associated with childhood asthma (OR 1.69, 95% confidence interval 1.05-2.77, P = 0.03). The association was marginally stronger for infections in the first trimester (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.05-5.41, P = 0.04) and for those with cough during pregnancy (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.23-4.22, P = 0.007). The associations remained significant after allowing for the effect of the independent variables (gender, maternal smoking, maternal wheeze, allergic rhinitis, eczema, asthma treatment in pregnancy and deprivation [Townsend] score), using multiple logistic regression analysis (ORs and 95% CIs 1.91, 1.14-3.22; 2.32, 1.01-5.34 and 2.29, 1.17-4.48, respectively). There was also an association between numbers of presentations with respiratory infections and childhood asthma (test for trend, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown an association between presentation with respiratory infection during gestation and childhood asthma. The results were not affected by the other independent variable factors studied and therefore provide some evidence to support the theory that respiratory viruses may be implicated in the aetiology of asthma.

A simple scoring system for evaluating symptoms, history and urine dipstick testing in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection.

Patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of urinary tract infection were recruited in a general practice survey aimed at measuring the predictive value of symptoms, history and urine dipstick testing for diagnosing the presence of bacterial infection. Urine specimens were obtained from 87% of the 521 patients recruited. A diagnosis of infection was established by urine culture producing a colony count in a pure culture exceeding 100 000 organisms per ml or between 10 000 and 100 000 organisms per ml plus a minimum of 100 leucocytes per mm(3).Occurrence rates for symptoms and other items of information in infected and non-infected groups were used to derive their positive and negative predictive values in making the diagnosis. The predictive value of volunteered symptoms was compared with that of elicited and volunteered symptoms combined. The positive predictive value of symptoms was increased where elicited symptoms were included but this was achieved at the cost of diminishing the negative predictive value. The occurrence rates were used to derive a mathematical model for diagnosing infection. The symptoms-history-urinalysis (SHU) score generated in this model compared well with a computer predicted probability. Both were substantially better than the assessment and action (decision to prescribe an antibiotic) of the recording doctor.The scoring method described has been demonstrated in urinary tract infection but may be applied to any symptom combination related to a diagnosis for which there is an agreed definition.

Pain after laparoscopy related to posture and ring versus clip sterilization.

In an attempt to reduce pain after laparoscopy, presumed to be due to persistence of CO2 in the peritoneal cavity especially under the diaphragm, women were kept 30 degrees head down for 30 min immediately after operation. By random selection 67 treated patients were compared with 64 kept flat, postoperative symptoms being recorded at fixed times for 3 days. Although tilting was found to be of no significant benefit there were two useful findings. In both groups there was a significant fall in the frequency of upper abdominal pain during the first postoperative night from about 53% to about 25%, followed by a rise after returning home on the first postoperative day to about 60% and only a slow fall in the next 2 days. The severity of pain followed the same pattern. Patients should be warned to expect increased pain on ambulation after leaving hospital. Also, there was doubling in lower abdominal pain during the first 6 h associated with the use of Falope rings for sterilization, compared with either Hulka clip sterilization or only diagnostic laparoscopy.