A study of placental blood drainage in third stage of labour to prevent postpartum haemorrhage: a randomized controlled study

Background: PPH is most common cause of maternal mortality accounting for 25-30% incidence and third stage of labour plays most crucial role in preventing postpartum haemorrhage.Methods: A prospective randomized control study in which 100 low risk pregnant women, admitted to labour ward with term gestation were evaluated. They were divided into 2 groups- control group (controlled cord traction) and study group (placental cord blood drainage), 50 pregnant women in each group. Duration of third stage and Amount of blood loss in third stage were evaluated and compared between the 2 groups.Results: Mean duration of third stage of labour in study group was 3.96±1.36 minutes and in control group was 6.00±2.12 minutes. The mean amount of blood loss in third stage of labour in study group was 99.80±56.47 ml in control group was 171.760±96.94 ml. Drop in haemoglobin level after delivery in control group was almost double than study group.Conclusions: Placental cord blood drainage in the management of third stage is non-invasive, easy, safe method which can be used in active management of third stage of labour as it has minimal interference in natural mechanism of placental separation. Placental cord blood drainage should be encouraged for management of third stage of labour universally to all pregnant women specifically in low resource setting areas

A comparative study of the effectiveness of placental blood drainage versus no placental blood drainage in active management of third stage of labor at a tertiary care hospital

Background: WHO defines postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) as when blood loss is greater than or equal to 500 ml within 24 hours after birth. When blood loss is greater than or equal to 1000 ml within 24 hourrs, it is called as severe primary postpartum haemorrhage. Placental blood drainage is done by clamping and cutting of umbilical cord after birth of baby followed by unclamping the maternal side of cord so the blood can drain freely into a container.Methods: 200 patients were studied in current research finding. Study group had 100 patients whose placental blood drainage was done and control group had 100 patients whose placental blood drainage was not done. This study was done to analyze the effectiveness of placental blood drainage in reducing blood loss.Results: The duration of third stage of labor was 295.70 seconds in study group and 475.20 seconds in control group. The amount of blood loss in study group was 273.76 ml and 294.92 ml in control group. p value was found to be significant. Incidence of PPH in study group was 1% and 8% in control group.Conclusions: Placenta blood drainage was safe and simple. It is a non invasive method very useful to prevent PPH. It reduces the duration of third stage of labor and reduces amount of blood loss

Ultrasonography for diagnosis of abdominal tuberculosis in HIV infected people

Background & objectives: There is an increasing incidence of abdominal tuberculosis with the advent of HIV infection. This study was aimed at determining the pattern of presentation of abdominal tuberculosis on ultrasonography (USG) in HIV positive patients. Methods: This retrospective study was carried at the ART Centre, Sir Sunderlal Hospital, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, between March 2005 to July 2007. HIV positive patients (n=2453) with prolonged fever, abdominal pain/distension, altered bowel habits and diarrhoea underwent ultrasonography for tuberculosis of abdomen. The different ultrasonological findings in abdominal tuberculosis were noted. CD4 counts of these patients were also recorded. Results: Of the total 2453 patients, 244 showed findings suggestive of abdominal tuberculosis. Lymphadenopathy with predominantly hypoechoic/necrotic echotexture was seen in 158/244 (64.8%) patients. Splenomegaly was seen in 68 patients with 61 of them (89.7%) showing multiple hypoechoic lesions in the parenchyma. 53 of 244 (21.7%) showed extensive abdominal involvement. Liver enlargement was seen as a part of extensive abdominal involvement. A total of 203 patients completed antitubercular treatment, of which 198 (97.5%) showed resolution of lesions in USG. CD4 counts in patients with extensive abdominal involvement were lowest compared to CD4 count in patients with others USG findings. Interpretation & conclusion: Ultrasonological findings like lymphadenopathy (≥1.5 cm) with hypoechoeic/necrotic echotexture, hypoechoic splenic lesions and extensive abdominal involvement in HIV infected patients may be suggestive of abdominal tuberculosis

Introduction to Satellite Education on Quality Management

Education provides access to subject matter experts, interaction with career role models. It provides interaction with students in other schools, increases access to information instructional resources, offers opportunities for staff development/in-service training, and increase school community linkages. The rapid growth of satellite networks has generated interest by many state officials in statewide satellite networks. Rural areas are showing great interest in interactive satellite instruction as a way to resolve teacher shortages and meet rigorous graduation requirements. Televised classes permitting live teacher-student interaction via satellite communication systems, and regular telephone lines provide equity increasing quality of educational opportunity

Determination of ethambutol MICs for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium isolates by resazurin microtitre assay

Objectives: To test susceptibilities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates to ethambutol by the Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) proportion method and resazurin microtitre assay (REMA) and to evaluate REMA for the determination of ethambutol MICs for MTB and Mycobacterium avium isolates. Methods: A total of 50 MTB and 20 M. avium isolates were tested to determine the MICs of ethambutol by REMA and agar dilution method. MTB isolates were also tested by the LJ proportion method. Results: REMA provided ethambutol susceptibility results for all the isolates within 8-9 days. For MTB isolates, REMA showed 96.7% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity and 98.0% accuracy when LJ proportion results were taken as 'gold standard'. For both MTB and M. avium isolates, the MICs determined by REMA were lower than those determined in agar medium, indicating that MIC values determined by REMA are closer to the actual MICs for the isolates. Conclusions: REMA can be used as a rapid and inexpensive method for mycobacterial drug susceptibility testing against ethambutol. In comparison with the agar method, the MICs determined by REMA can more accurately be correlated with achievable plasma concentrations of antimycobacterial agents

A review on development and application of plant-based bioflocculants and grafted bioflocculants

Flocculation is extensively employed for clarification through sedimentation. Application of eco-friendly plant-based bioflocculants in wastewater treatment has attracted significant attention lately with high removal capability in terms of solids, turbidity, color, and dye. However, moderate flocculating property and short shelf life restrict their development. To enhance the flocculating ability, natural polysaccharides derived from plants are chemically modified by inclusion of synthetic, nonbiodegradable monomers (e.g., acrylamide) onto their backbone to produce grafted bioflocculants. This review is aimed to provide an overview of the development and flocculating efficiencies of plant-based bioflocculants and grafted bioflocculants for the first time. Furthermore, the processing methods, flocculation mechanism, and the current challenges are discussed. All the reported studies about plant-derived bioflocculants are conducted under lab-scale conditions in wastewater treatment. Hence, the possibility to apply natural bioflocculants in food and beverage, mineral, paper and pulp, and oleo-chemical and biodiesel industries is discussed and evaluated