Comparison of ropivacaine and lidocaine for paracervical block during surgical abortion.

BACKGROUND: The study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of ropivacaine and lidocaine as paracervical analgesia for elective abortion by vacuum aspiration. STUDY DESIGN: This single-center double-blinded randomized study tested two different agents for paracervical analgesia in elective abortions: lidocaine (n=57) or ropivacaine (n=57). We assessed intra- and postoperative pain according to both a visual analogical scale rated from 0 to 10 and postoperative analgesic requirements. RESULTS: Mean intraoperative pain was significantly lower in the ropivacaine group (5.23+/-2.72 vs. 4.18+/-2.77, p=.048.). There was no significant difference in mean assessed pain at the end of the intervention or at 2 or 4 h afterward. The rate of subjects requiring additional postoperative analgesia did not differ significantly between the lidocaine and ropivacaine groups [8/59 (13.5%) vs. 6/59 (10.1%), p=.33]. DISCUSSION: Intraoperative pain appears to be less with ropivacaine than with lidocaine. Nonetheless, the clinical difference was slight, as was therefore the benefit of using ropivacaine for paracervical block in elective abortions.

Development and validation of a nomogram to predict the risk of cesarean delivery in macrosomia.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a nomogram that predicts individual probability of cesarean delivery in cases of macrosomia (>4,000 g). METHODS: The nomogram was built based on the data from 246 patients who delivered macrosomic infants at Conception Hospital (Marseille, France), and was validated on an external population of 206 patients. Logistic regression was used to construct a model to predict the probability of cesarean section. The calculations were based on actual birth weight. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The accuracy of the model was evaluated by area under the receiver operator curve. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis performed on the training set, maternal age (p=0.002), parity (p=0.003), and maternal height <1.65 m (p=0.01) were found to be significantly associated with the occurrence of cesarean delivery and included in the nomogram. The final variables included in the nomogram were: age (p=0.01), maternal height (p=0.02), parity (p<0.001), and previous cesarean section (p=0.009). Area under the ROCs was 0.80 and 0.78 in the training set before and after bootstrapping, respectively, and 0.88 in the validation set. The calibration of the nomogram was good. CONCLUSION: We have developed a nomogram based on actual birth weight that accurately predicts the risk of cesarean delivery in cases of macrosomia. This tool might be useful for decision-making.

In situ methotrexate injection for treatment of recurrent endometriotic cysts.

OBJECTIVE: Ovarian endometrioma recurrence is frequent. Conventional treatment of ovarian endometrioma is by surgical cystectomy. We proposed an alternative medical treatment for recurrent ovarian endometrioma: cyst aspiration followed by in situ methotrexate injection. STUDY DESIGN: From January 2002 to May 2003, 14 patients with recurrent homolateral ovarian endometrioma underwent transvaginal ultrasound guided cyst puncture and aspiration followed by methotrexate injection, whilst under general anasthesia. Recurrence rate during follow up was evaluated. RESULTS: No complication was reported. After a mean follow up of 20+/-5 month (min: 13, max: 29), four recurrences were diagnosed (28.6%). Two asymptomatic recurrences were not treated and two painful recurrences underwent a second cyst drainage with methotrexate injection. CONCLUSIONS: In situ methotrexate injection is a simple, effective and an interesting alternative to surgical treatment in women with recurrent homolateral ovarian endometrioma.

Value of laparoscopic assistance for vaginal hysterectomy with prophylactic bilateral oophorectomy.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to compare morbidity for women undergoing laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy (LAVHO) and vaginal hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy without laparoscopic assistance (VHO). STUDY DESIGN: Between April 1, 2002, and February 1, 2004, a prospective randomized study at Marseille University Hospital (La Conception) included 48 patients who underwent a hysterectomy with prophylactic bilateral oophorectomy for benign uterine conditions. These patients were allocated to 2 groups (LAVHO vs VHO). The study variables were duration of surgery and of hospitalization and surgical and postoperative complications. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the duration of surgery between the LAVHO and VHO groups (100.2 +/- 27.9 vs 83.9 +/- 34.6, P = .08). The rate of complications was significantly higher in the LAVHO group (13/24 [54.1%] vs 6/24 [25%], P = .039). CONCLUSION: The overall complication rate was higher with LAVHO than VHO. It thus appears that laparoscopic assistance is not useful in performing vaginal hysterectomies with prophylactic bilateral oophorectomies in patients without other related disorders (endometriosis, adhesions, adnexal anomalies).

Maternal and neonatal morbidity after first vaginal delivery using Thierry's spatulas.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse maternal and neonatal morbidity associated with instrumental delivery using Thierry's spatulas. METHODS: Between January 2001 and December 2003, 570 nulliparous women with term, singleton, cephalic pregnancies gave birth by either instrumental (n = 279) or spontaneous vaginal delivery (n = 291) and were studied in a retrospective case-control study. Maternal and neonatal morbidity were compared in the instrumental vs. spontaneous delivery groups. RESULTS: Women who underwent instrumental delivery using Thierry's spatula were more likely to have severe perineal tears (ORa 7.5, 95% CI 1.5, 32.3), urinary retention (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3, 5.6), postpartum blood loss (ORa 3.4, 2.4, 4.9) and extended hospital stay (OR 3.21, 95% CI 2.3, 4.6) than women having a spontaneous vaginal birth. Regarding the infant, one case of subgaleal haematoma was noted. No significant difference was noted in neonatal period. CONCLUSION: This data support the safety of Thierry's spatula on infant outcome. Maternal morbidity observed with Thierry spatulas was similar to that reported in the literature for other modes of instrumental delivery but the risk for perineal morbidity was higher than for spontaneous delivery. Neonatal morbidity appeared to be limited.