A model clinical faculty workshop program for a multisite clerkship.

Over the past 20 years, the University of Washington Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has conducted twice-yearly faculty development workshops at the University for clinical faculty at community sites spread over three time zones in Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. These workshops consist of three separate parts: 1) a session to report on student clerkship performance and faculty ratings, 2) a session on curriculum and/or teaching, and 3) a session to update medical topics. Faculty found the workshops useful for improving their clinical teaching, keeping in touch with the full-time faculty, and developing a sense of cohesiveness. The department found the workshops useful in maintaining the teaching of consistent content and ensuring that all sites provide students with comparable experiences and evaluation.

A double-blind randomized comparison of lidocaine and saline for cervical anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE: To compare bacteriostatic saline and buffered lidocaine for cervical anesthesia to blunt the reported pain during brief suction curettage. METHODS: A double-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on women presenting for pregnancy termination procedures. Participants received either paracervical submucosal injections of bacteriostatic saline or 1% buffered lidocaine just before cervical dilation. Self-reported pain intensity was assessed at three time points during and 30 minutes after the procedure. RESULTS: Fifty-two of 135 eligible women presenting for pregnancy termination procedures participated in the study. Pain intensity ratings in lidocaine and saline treatment subjects did not differ significantly at any point. Our study had a power of 0.94 to detect more than a 15% difference on the 21-point box scale between the two solutions. Only one patient requested her block be repeated, and she had received lidocaine originally. Furthermore, of those women receiving lidocaine, 11% reported mild toxicity symptoms. CONCLUSION: To minimize lidocaine toxicity for a brief suction curettage procedure, bacteriostatic saline or very dilute lidocaine could be considered for the paracervical injection solution. The local anesthetic mechanism may be distention rather than blockage of specific autonomic nerves when there is no waiting period. This would mean that the term paracervical block could be changed to cervical anesthesia.

Risks of oral contraceptive use in women over 35.

Oral contraceptives are a reliable and convenient method of birth control. Nevertheless, physicians are reluctant to use them in women over 35 because of concerns about increased risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer despite evidence to the contrary. Well-designed studies have shown that the incidence of thromboembolic disease is related to the estrogen dose and that the risk of thromboembolism is highest in women who smoke. With current oral contraceptive formulations, there is no increased risk of cardiovascular disease or stroke in women without other risk factors. Oral contraceptives have been shown to protect against endometrial and ovarian cancer. The risk of breast cancer appears to be increased only minimally among current oral contraceptive users. Thus, oral contraceptives offer a safe and effective means of birth control in women over 35, especially in the absence of other risk factors.

PIP: No one has yet conducted a definitive, prospective, controlled study in 35-50 year old women that examines the relationship between oral contraceptive (OC) use and thromboembolism, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and cancers of the breast and genital organs. The available data derive from large studies on women in all age groups. These studies, mostly from the US and the UK, demonstrate that older women are somewhat more likely to be at risk of thromboembolism, MI, and stroke. Yet, the risk does not tend to be limited to OC users and is likely associated with other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The risk of thromboembolism is greatest in smokers. It is also associated with the estrogen dose, which is lower today than it was in the past (= or 50 mcg vs. = or 100 mcg). The relationship between breast cancer and OC use is not clear, but the data suggest that the risk of breast cancer is elevated slightly among current OC users. The data confirm, however, that OCs protect against endometrial and ovarian cancer. Since many women older than 35 years old need safe, reversible contraception, the US Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee concluded that healthy older women with no risk factors can safely use OCs. Women who should avoid OCs include those with a hormone-related history of thromboembolism, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, and other conditions that might cause adverse effects. Women with a clear family history of endometrial or ovarian cancer could likely benefit from OC use. Prospective studies of such women who do use OCs should be conducted to determine whether the protective effects of OCs can be extended. If the results are favorable, providers can emphasize OC benefits rather than risks. OCs are safe and effective for women over 35 who have no risk factors.

Use of antidepressants in the management of women with chronic pelvic pain.

Despite a lack of formal evidence for the efficacy of antidepressants in the treatment of CPP, several lines of evidence suggest that they may play an increasingly important role in the treatment of this disorder. Although best combined as part of a multimodal treatment package that includes psychotherapy, behavior change, and physical activation, they appear to have promise for at least a subgroup of women with chronic pain. The relative safety of these medications and the high prevalence of major depression in this population of patients make the routine empirical trial of these medications a desirable, cost- and time-effective strategy in the treatment of this disorder.

Sexual victimization and chronic pelvic pain.

Women with chronic pelvic pain are frequently found to have histories of sexual victimization. The authors review the evidence supporting this association and examine related questions regarding the association of chronic pelvic pain with other forms of abuse as well as the relationship of sexual victimization with other physical sequelae. Practical strategies are offered for the office management of patients with both chronic pelvic pain and sexual trauma.

Abuse of women: an overview.

Abuse of women, particularly in ongoing relationships, is very common. The risks to these women and their children for both bodily harm and death are great. The risk to the batterer as the woman tries to defend herself is also significant. Physicians and other health care workers should evaluate patients for the possibility that they are victims of violence and, when this is discovered, should offer viable options to that of remaining in a violent relationship.

Relationship of bacteriologic characteristics to semen indices in men attending an infertility clinic.

Bacteria can be isolated from most seminal fluid samples, but the significance of these microorganisms is uncertain because most men lack symptoms associated with bacterial infection of the reproductive tract. We obtained semen samples from 37 men attending a Special Infertility Clinic and assessed the relationship between seminal fluid microorganisms and seminal fluid analysis including sperm motility, morphology, and concentration; the numbers of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and other white blood cells; and the hamster zona-free oocyte sperm penetration assay. Aerobic and/or anaerobic bacteria were recovered from 36 of the 37 samples. One hundred eighty-eight isolates (113 aerobes, 74 anaerobes, and one yeast) were recovered, with a mean of 5.2 isolates per semen specimen. The microorganisms recovered from the samples included: coagulase-negative staphylococci (89%), viridans streptococci (65%), diphtheroids (86%), Peptostreptococcus sp (62%), Bacteroides sp (27%), Gardnerella vaginalis (19%), Lactobacillus sp (16%), Actinomyces sp (16%), Enterococcus (11%), and Veillonella (11%). Other microorganisms including group B streptococcus, Hemophilus, Escherichia coli, Mobiluncus, and Clostridium were each recovered from fewer than 10% of the specimens. When the microbiology of seminal fluid specimens with or without polymorphonuclear leukocytes was compared, the presence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the semen was not associated with the isolation of staphylococci (33 versus 25%), viridans streptococci (33 versus 28%), Bacteroides sp (17 versus 37%), or Peptostreptococcus (31 versus 33%) (P greater than .05 for each comparison). The proportion of semen samples yielding bacterial isolates was similar after categorization by normal motility (more than 60%), pyospermia (six or more leukocytes per 100 sperm), sperm concentration, morphology, and a normal sperm penetration assay (11% or more).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of electronic fetal-heart-rate monitoring, as compared with periodic auscultation, on the neurologic development of premature infants.

In a multicenter, randomized clinical trial, we assessed the early neurologic development of 93 children born prematurely whose heart rates were monitored electronically during delivery and compared it with that of 96 children born prematurely whose heart rates were periodically monitored by auscultation. All the children were singletons with cephalic presentation, and all weighed less than or equal to 1750 g at birth. The mental and psychomotor indexes of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (standardized mean score +/- SD, 100 +/- 16) and a formal neurologic examination were administered at three follow-up visits (at 4, 8, and 18 months of age, corrected for gestational age). At 18 months, the mean mental-development scores in the groups receiving electronic fetal monitoring and periodic auscultation were 100.5 +/- 2.4 and 104.9 +/- 1.8, respectively (P greater than 0.1). The mean psychomotor-development scores in the two groups at 18 months were 94.0 +/- 2.4 and 98.3 +/- 1.8, respectively (P greater than 0.1). The incidence of cerebral palsy was higher in the electronically monitored group--20 percent as compared with 8 percent in the group that was monitored by auscultation (P less than 0.03). In the electronic-fetal-monitoring group (but not in the periodic-auscultation group), the risk of cerebral palsy increased with the duration of abnormal fetal-heart-rate patterns, as assessed by retrospective review (chi 2 trend = 12.71, P less than 0.001). The median time to delivery after the diagnosis of abnormal fetal-heart-rate patterns was 104 minutes with electronic fetal monitoring, as compared with 60 minutes with periodic auscultation. We conclude that as compared with a structured program of periodic auscultation, electronic fetal monitoring does not result in improved neurologic development in children born prematurely.

Cavernous lymphangioma of the vulva.

Lymphangiomas are rare benign proliferations of the lymphatic system. Three types are generally acknowledged: circumscriptum (or capillary), cavernous, and cystic. The management of these lesions depends on type, size, and anatomical location. We present a case of cavernous lymphangioma of the right labium majus in a young woman with no history of radiation therapy or other pathology, which was treated by wide resection.

Sperm penetration assay and subsequent pregnancy: a prospective study of 74 infertile men.

Seventy-four men of infertile couples, for whom a female infertility factor had been excluded, were followed for up to three years after semen analyses that included the sperm penetration assay, an in vitro test of sperm function. At 156 weeks after a normal sperm penetration assay, the cumulative pregnancy rate was 68%, versus only 27% when an abnormal assay was noted. Cumulative pregnancy percents at one year varied significantly (P less than .02) according to the magnitude of the assay result (0%, 1-10%, 11-15%, 16% or greater). However, differences between 0% versus 1-10%, and 11-15% versus 16% or greater, were not statistically significant. Only one of 14 men effected conception after an assay result of 0%. These findings were little altered when analysis of the sperm penetration assay was restricted to men with normal sperm concentration (20 X 10(6) sperm mL-1 or greater) and motility (60% or greater). The presence of pyospermia (six or more white blood cells per 100 spermatozoa) was associated with continued infertility, but neither abnormal sperm concentration nor motility were associated significantly with lower cumulative pregnancy percents. When performed for infertile men according to standard protocol, the sperm penetration assay enhances prediction of future pregnancy.

A randomized trial of electronic fetal monitoring in preterm labor.

Intrapartum electronic fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring and fetal blood gas sampling were compared with periodic auscultation of FHR in a multicentered randomized trial of preterm singleton pregnancies with fetal weights of 700-1750 g. Two hundred forty-six pregnancies were studied (electronic FHR monitoring N = 122, auscultation N = 124). Perinatal or infant death was associated with 14% of pregnancies with electronic FHR monitoring and 15% with auscultation. No significant differences were noted in the prevalence of low five-minute Apgar scores, intrapartum acidosis, intracranial hemorrhage, or frequency of cesarean section (P greater than .10). Compared with electronic FHR monitoring, intrapartum auscultation as done in this study is unlikely to be associated with detectable differences in perinatal outcomes within the high-risk setting of preterm labor.

Longitudinal analysis of a multisite clerkship.

Monitoring the quality of well-established multisite clerkships can be aided by the use of trend analysis and graphic-oriented presentations. Five years of data on student performance, experience, and perceptions are reported for an obstetrics and gynecology clerkship offered at eight geographically dispersed sites. Of the five measures of student performance, two (final written and oral examinations) showed major changes. Trends also appeared in student participation in deliveries and student ratings of teaching over time. The results of these analyses were communicated to faculty at each site and used to make improvements in the clerkship. The implications and use of these longitudinal evaluation procedures are discussed.

Genetic amniocentesis: significance of intraamniotic bleeding and placental location.

Simultaneous ultrasound was used to determine if there was a correlation between visualized intraamniotic bleeding, placental location, and fetal-maternal hemorrhage. It was hoped to then determine which Rh-negative patients should receive Rh immunoglobulin. Visualized intraamniotic bleeding showed no correlation to fetal-maternal hemorrhage. Intraamniotic bleeding was commonly associated with needle insertion through an anterior placenta, but also occurred regardless of placental location and in the absence of placental needle traversal. No correlation was found between placental location and fetal-maternal hemorrhage as evidenced by evaluation of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein. The Kleihauer test was not as sensitive as alpha-fetoprotein.