A proposal to reduce the risk of transmission of human papilloma virus via transvaginal ultrasound.

Three steps must be followed to prevent the transmission of infection via a contaminated transvaginal ultrasound probe: cleaning the probe after every use, high-level disinfection, and covering the probe with a single-use barrier during the examination. There may be critical flaws in at least 2 of these steps as they are currently practiced. First, 2 widely used disinfectants, glutaraldehyde and orthophthalaldehyde, have recently been found to be ineffective at neutralizing human papilloma virus type 16 and type 18. Second, commercial ultrasound probe covers have an unacceptable rate of leakage (8-81%) compared to condoms (0.9-2%). We recommend the use of a sonicated hydrogen peroxide disinfectant system rather than aldehyde-type disinfectants. We recommend that the probe be covered with a condom rather than a commercial probe cover during transvaginal ultrasound examination. Combined with probe cleaning, these 2 steps are estimated to result in an 800 million- to 250 billion-fold reduction in human papilloma virus viral load, which should translate to greatly enhanced patient safety.

Prospective evaluation of a protocol for using transabdominal ultrasound to screen for short cervix.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate a recently proposed protocol whereby transabdominal ultrasound of the cervix might be used as a prescreen to select women to undergo or to forgo measurement of cervical length via transvaginal ultrasound (CLvag). STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort study. Measurements of cervical length via transabdominal ultrasound (CLabd) and CLvag were made in women with singleton pregnancy during routine obstetrical ultrasound examination at 18(0/7) to 23(6/7) weeks of gestation. The transabdominal screen was considered positive if CLabd was ≤36 mm with the maternal bladder full or ≤35 mm with the bladder empty, or adequate imaging of the cervix could not be obtained. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios of a positive screen to detect a short cervix (CLvag ≤25 mm) were calculated. RESULTS: An interim analysis identified several technical problems with CLabd measurements, so the protocol was extensively revised. Under the revised protocol, 1580 women were included. Adequate views of the cervix were obtained via transabdominal imaging in 46% of subjects with the bladder empty and 56% with the bladder full. The correlation between CLabd and CLvag was poor (r = 0.38). Of the 17 patients with a short cervix, 15 had suboptimal transabdominal exams (screen positive) and 2 had CLabd ≤35 mm with bladder empty (screen positive). Sensitivity of the screen was 100% (95% confidence interval, 80.5-100%) but specificity was only 32.2% (95% confidence interval, 29.9-34.6%) and screen positive rate was 66.3%. Several technical problems and limitations of transabdominal imaging of the cervix are shown. CONCLUSION: Using modern, high-resolution ultrasound equipment, we were unable to adequately image the cervix via transabdominal ultrasound in half the cases. Although we confirmed that a CLabd cutoff value of 35-36 mm is appropriate for detection of short cervix, the technique for measuring CLabd is fraught with technical problems. Practitioners must validate the technique in their own practice before adopting this or similar prescreening protocols. We decided not to adopt this protocol.

Obstetrician/gynecologist hospitalists: can we improve safety and outcomes for patients and hospitals and improve lifestyle for physicians?

Over the last 5 years, a new obstetric-gynecologic hospitalist model has emerged rapidly, the primary focus of which is the care and safety of the laboring patient. The need for this type of practitioner has been driven by a number of factors: various types of patient safety programs that require a champion and organizer; the realization that bad outcomes and malpractice lawsuits often result from the lack of immediate availability of a physician in the labor and delivery suite; the desire for many younger practicing physicians to seek a balance between their personal and professional lives; the appeal of shift work as opposed to running a busy private practice; the waning amount of training that new residency graduates receive in critical skills that are needed on labor and delivery; the void in critical care of the laboring patient that is created by the outpatient focus of many physicians in maternal-fetal medicine; the need for hospitals to have a group of physicians to implement protocols and policies on the unit, and the need for teaching in all hospitals, not just academic centers. By having a dedicated group of physicians whose practice is limited mostly to the care of the labor and delivery aspects of patient care, there is great potential to address many of these needs. There are currently 164 known obstetrician/gynecologist hospitalist programs across the United States, with 2 more coming on each month; the newly formed Society of Obstetrician/Gynecologist Hospitalists currently has >80 individual members. This article addresses the advantages, challenges, and variety of Hospitalist models and will suggest that what may be considered an emerging trend is actually a sustainable model for improved patient care and safety.

Aggressive tocolysis does not prolong pregnancy or reduce neonatal morbidity after preterm premature rupture of the membranes.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to evaluate whether aggressive tocolysis improves pregnancy outcome after preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study of patients with PPROM before 34 weeks of gestation, followed by a prospective cohort study with historical controls. The retrospective phase covered 1995 through 1999 when we used tocolysis aggressively. With the use of survival analysis, we compared latency in our cases with 4 published control series in which tocolysis was never used. On the basis of the results, we adopted a new protocol in mid-2000 limiting tocolysis to 48 hours after betamethasone dosing and we conducted a 2-year prospective evaluation of this new protocol. RESULTS: In the retrospective phase, tocolysis was used in 94% of 130 cases and maintained during 84% of 1162 total antenatal patient-days. There was no difference in latency between our cases and the published controls. One or more complications of tocolysis occurred in 18%. In the prospective study, 43% of 63 patients received tocolytics, but these were used at lower doses and were given during only 7% of 770 patient-days. Latency with this very limited tocolytic regimen (median 4.5 days, interquartile range 2.3 to 14.0) was not significantly different than during the last 24 months of aggressive tocolysis (median 3.8 days, 1.8 to 14 days, P=.16) and there were no differences in neonatal morbidity. CONCLUSION: Aggressive tocolysis after PPROM causes significant maternal morbidity, but does not increase latency or decrease neonatal morbidity compared with either very limited tocolysis or no tocolysis at all.