Clinical characteristics of women captured by extending the definition of severe postpartum haemorrhage with 'refractoriness to treatment': a cohort study

Background: The absence of a uniform and clinically relevant definition of severe postpartum haemorrhage hampers comparative studies and optimization of clinical management. The concept of persistent postpartum haemorrhage, based on refractoriness to initial first-line treatment, was proposed as an alternative to common definitions that are either based on estimations of blood loss or transfused units of packed red blood cells (RBC). We compared characteristics and outcomes of women with severe postpartum haemorrhage captured by these three types of definitions. Methods: In this large retrospective cohort study in 61 hospitals in the Netherlands we included 1391 consecutive women with postpartum haemorrhage who received either ≥4 units of RBC or a multicomponent transfusion. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of women with severe postpartum haemorrhage defined as persistent postpartum haemorrhage were compared to definitions based on estimated blood loss or transfused units of RBC within 24 h following birth. Adverse maternal outcome was a composite of maternal mortality, hysterectomy, arterial embolisation and intensive care unit admission. Results: One thousand two hundred sixty out of 1391 women (90.6%) with postpartum haemorrhage fulfilled the definition of persistent postpartum haemorrhage. The majority, 820/1260 (65.1%), fulfilled this definition within 1 h following birth, compared to 819/1391 (58.7%) applying the definition of ≥1 L blood loss and 37/845 (4.4%) applying the definition of ≥4 units of RBC. The definition persistent postpartum haemorrhage captured 430/471 adverse maternal outcomes (91.3%), compared to 471/471 (100%) for ≥1 L blood loss and 383/471 (81.3%) for ≥4 units of RBC. Persistent postpartum haemorrhage did not capture all adverse outcomes because of missing data on timing of initial, first-line treatment. Conclusion: The definition persistent postpartum haemo

Dutch GPs acknowledge the need for preconceptual health care.

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Preoperative TNM classification of gastric carcinoma by endosonography in comparison with the pathological TNM system: a prospective study of 72 cases

Prospectively, 72 patients with a gastric carcinoma were studied endosonographically before surgery. The results were correlated with those obtained with the histology of resected specimens according to the new (1987) TNM classification. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) was accurate in assessing the extent and depth of tumor infiltration. Early gastric carcinoma could readily be distinguished from advanced carcinoma. The overall accuracy of EUS was 84.7%. Occasionally, overstaging and understaging occurred. Stenosis was a factor limiting accurate staging. EUS was reasonably accurate in the assessment of lymph node metastasis. The overall accuracy was 81.0%. In non-metastatic lymph nodes, however, the accuracy was only 50%. Difficulties occurred in distinguishing granulomatous lymph nodes and small micrometastatic lymph node involvement. EUS was not accurate in diagnosing distant metastasis, due to the limited depth of penetration of ultrasound. Technical improvements such as a reduction in the diameter of the echoprobe, and the use of the biopsy channel for EUS-guided cytological puncture will further enhance the accuracy of EU

MATERNAL SMOKING CESSATION INTERVENTION: TARGETING WOMEN AND THEIR PARTNERS BEFORE PREGNANCY

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Colonoscopic decompression should be used before neostigmine in the treatment of Ogilvie's syndrome

Background Performance of urgent colonoscopy for the purposes of diagnosis and treatment of Ogilvie's syndrome remains controversial. However, no trials have directly compared neostigmine with endoscopic therapy. This study aimed to compare the effect of neostigmine and colonoscopic decompression in the treatment of Ogilvie's syndrome