Clinical epidemiological study of uterine prolapse

Background: Pelvic organ prolapse is one of the common gynaecological problem in India among the parous and aged women. Though the pelvic organ prolapse is not life threatening if left untreated it can lead to many social issues and also it reduces the quality of life of a woman. Thus, this study aims at generating epidemiological data on uterine prolapse in a clinical setting and identifying its risk factors so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent the same.Methods: It was a descriptive case control study. Using a study proforma the required information was collected from the patients admitted with uterine prolapse (case) and from amongst the patient’s attendees of Gynaecology ward (control). Obtained data were compared and analyzed using appropriate statistical methods.Results: Uterine prolapse contributes to about 5.9% of the total gynecological patients admitted during the study period. The mean age of presentation with uterine prolapse was 50.1years the mean number of deliveries was higher in case compared to the control with the mean of 4 deliveries. Out of 130 patients, only 13.9% of them had institutional delivery while the others had home delivery.Conclusions: Uterine prolapse is strongly associated with age, parity and place of delivery. As the risk factors for uterine prolapse are easily preventable public health awareness programme must be conducted on its risk factors there by reducing the incidence of prolapse and decreasing the morbidity caused by it

Assessment of present awareness on reproductive health and evaluation of a tool designed for reproductive health education among school going adolescent girls

Background: Reproductive health is an important area of concern in adolescent health. Assessment of unmet needs of unmarried adolescent girls during past five years revealed the felt needs are mostly unmet in areas related to menstrual hygiene, knowledge on consequences of early marriage, risk of teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, HIV and AIDS, unsafe abortions and breast feeding. This study is carried out to assess the knowledge of adolescent girls regarding menstruation, pregnancy, contraception, STD’s, AIDS, and breast feeding and to study the effect of health education program in terms of improvement in their knowledge.Methods: This study was carried out among adolescent girls from randomly selected government girls higher secondary schools of Pondicherry from class 8 to class12. A total of 300 students were included in the study. A pretested questionnaire (English/Tamil) was administered to students. This was followed by an interactive session with the students to clarify doubts. Students was asked to fill an immediate post-test questionnaire to evaluate the effect of intervention (health education). After a minimum period of six months the students was reassessed by a same pretest and post-test questionnaire.Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in knowledge scores in various aspects of reproductive health following periodic health education intervention program.Conclusions: The knowledge on reproductive health and responsible sexual behaviour among school going adolescents is inadequate. Appropriate strategy to reach this vulnerable group has to be formulated by health care professionals with coordination and support from school authorities

Comparative study of various methods of fetal weight estimation at term pregnancy in a tertiary hospital in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India

Background: Prediction of fetal weight is one of the methods towards effective management of pregnancy and delivery. Ultrasonography is the standard method to monitor the weight, but in the absence of such facility it becomes difficult particularly in the primary care setting. Clinical methods can be considered as an option and this requires selection of the valid method in deriving the fetal weight. In the present study, an effort is made to compare two different clinical methods and USG and relate to the actual weight of the baby at birth.Methods: One hundred pregnant women satisfying the criteria, consenting for the study were recruited. Both USG and clinical methods were done and estimated the fetal weight. Weight of the baby at birth was measured.Results: All the three methods had significant relationship with the baby weight. Results indicated that estimation of fetal weight by Dare’s formula could predict 69% of the cases correctly followed by Johnson’s method which could predict 61% of the cases correctly. USG predicted 67% of the cases correctly. Percentage error was least with USG and the standard deviation of error was lower with Dare’s formula.Conclusions: It can be concluded that Dare’s formula of clinical methods can be a potential option to be promoted in predicting the fetal weight in the absence of USG facilities. Training in this method is very important and can be an integral part in managing pregnancy during delivery in primary care setting

Menstrual disorders associated with thyroid dysfunction

Background: Present study was done to evaluate the thyroid function in patients presenting with varying menstrual patterns of reproductive age group from 15 to 45 years of age.Methods: This prospective study was carried out in obstetrics and gynecology Department of Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College, Pondicherry, India on 155 women, clinically given the provisional diagnosis of dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB). All these patients were investigated for T3, T4, TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) levels and grouped according to that.Results: Among the 155 women (58.7%) were normal thyroid function, (41.3%) had hypothyroid and (1.3%) had subclinical hypothyroidism.Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of thyroid disorders in cases which are clinically diagnosed as DUB. Evaluating for thyroid and treating it medically which was most accurate and cost effective and unnecessary surgery was avoided. Hence the thyroid function evaluation should be mandatory in cases of DUB to detect thyroid dysfunction and these cases should be referred to physician for further medical treatment

Corrosion and mechanical properties of hot-rolled 0.5%Gd-0.8%B-stainless steels in a simulated nuclear waste treatment solution

Corrosion and mechanical behavior of the hot-rolled 0.5%Gd-0.8%B-stainless steel to develop a spent nuclear fuel storage material was studied in a simulated nuclear waste treatment condition with rolling condition. The austenite and ferrite phases of the 0.5%Gd-0.8%B-stainless steels are about 88:12. The average austenite and ferrite grain size of the plane normal to rolling, transverse and normal directions of the hot rolled specimens are about 5.08, 8.94, 19.35, 23.29, 26.00 and 18.11 [m], respectively. The average micro-hardness of the as-cast specimen is 200.4 Hv, whereas, that of the hot-rolled specimen are 220.1, 204.7 and 203.5 [Hv] for the plane normal to RD, TD and ND, respectively. The UTS, YS and elongation of the as-cast and the hot-rolled specimen are 699, 484 [MPa], 34.0%, and 654, 432 [MPa] and 33.3%, respectively. The passivity was observed both for the as-cast and the hot rolled specimens in a simulated nuclear waste solution. The corrosion potential and corrosion rate of the as-casted specimens are −343 [mVSHE] and 3.2610−7 [A/cm2], whereas, those of the hot rolled specimens with normal to ND, RD and TD are −630, −512 and −620 [mVSHE] and 6.1210−7, 1.0410−6 and 6.9210−7 [A/cm2], respectively. Corrosion tends to occur preferentially Cr and B rich area

Process mapping of laser surface modification of AISI 316L stainless steel for biomedical applications

A 1.5-kW CO2 laser in pulsed mode at 3 kHz was used to investigate the effects of varied laser process parameters and resulting morphology of AISI 316L stainless steel. Irradiance and residence time were varied between 7.9 to 23.6 MW/cm2 and 50 to 167 µs respectively. A strong correlation between irradiance, residence time, depth of processing and roughness of processed steel was established. The high depth of altered microstructure and increased roughness were linked to higher levels of both irradiance and residence times. Energy fluence and surface temperature models were used to predict levels of melting occurring on the surface through the analysis of roughness and depth of the region processed. Microstructural images captured by the SEM revealed significant grain structure changes at higher irradiances, but due to increased residence times, limited to the laser in use, the hardness values were not improved

Comparative Study of Iron Supplements in South Indian Antenatal Women with Iron Deficiency Anemia

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. It is a major public health problem particularly among pregnant women with adverse effects on the mother and the new born. Iron supplementation is universally recommended to correct or prevent iron deficiency. AIMS & OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to compare the efficacy and tolerability of three oral iron preparations in anemic pregnant women of more than 14 weeks of gestation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Randomized Control trial, done at Tagore Medical College and Hospital, Chennai. 60 antenatal women were selected; they were divided into three groups, 20 in each group. They were treated with Carbonyl iron, ferrous sulphate and ferrous fumarate. Hemoglobin estimation was done at 0 day, 30th and 60th day. Adverse effects were monitored. RESULTS: Data analysis showed an increase in haemoglobin levels in all three groups after the 30th day (p<0.05). Carbonyl iron showed highly significant increase (p<0.05) in the haemoglobin level as compared to the other two drugs at the end of the 60th day. CONCLUSION: Carbonyl iron is superior in efficacy when compared to ferrous sulphate and ferrous fumarate and is better tolerated. So carbonyl iron is safe in pregnancy and can be given as a supplement to treat iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy

The effects of cold working on sensitization and intergranular corrosion behavior of AISI 304 stainless steel

The effects of prior cold rolling of up to an 80 pct reduction in thickness on the sensitization-desensitization behavior of Type AISI 304 stainless steel and its susceptibility to intergranular corrosion have been studied by electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR) and Strauss-test methods. The results indicate that the prior deformation accelerated the sensitization as compared to the undeformed stainless steel. The deformed Type 304 stainless steel experienced desensitization at higher temperatures and times, and it was found to be enhanced by increased cold deformation. This could be attributed to the increased long-range chromium diffusion, possibly brought on by increasing pipe diffusion and vacancies. The role of the deformation-induced martensite (DIM) and texture, introduced by uniaxial cold rolling, on the sensitization-desensitization kinetics has also been discussed. This study could not reveal any systematic relationship between texture and the degree of sensitization (DOS) obtained. The effect of DIM on DOS seems to be pronounced at 500 °C when the steel retained significant amounts of DIM; however, the retained DIM is insignificant at higher sensitization times and temperatures