All News
Targeted bio weapons in the war against gynecologic cancers
October 1st 2006Will biological warfare revolutionize the battle against gynecologic cancers? Two experts share the latest molecular tactics using "special" agents. Lethal weapons like Herceptin can throw up some roadblocks, even when they can't always destroy a tumor.
Poll says most Americans back HPV vaccine
October 1st 2006The majority of Americans are in favor of using a newly approved vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus, according to The Wall Street Journal (8/8/2006). About 70% of Americans agree that girls and young women should be encouraged to receive the HPV vaccine to prevent the spread of cervical cancer, while 7% disagreed and 23% were not sure.
Ampicillin remains poor choice for antepartum pyelonephritis
October 1st 2006Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of gram-negative rods causing antepartum pyelonephritis have shown little change over the last 15 years. Susceptibility patterns in 1992 to 1993 and 2004 to 2006 were similar, with 51% and 54% (respectively) of the Escherichia coli strains being resistant to ampicillin, according to Roberts and colleagues from Metrohealth Medical Center in Cleveland. However, E coli resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole increased from 5% to 20%. No resistance to first-generation cephalosporins was reported. This study confirms that ampicillin is a poor choice for the treatment of antepartum pyelonephritis.
Clinicians get a faster GBS test
October 1st 2006A new, rapid point-of-care test for group B streptococcus colonization (Cepheid GenXpert), was recently evaluated in a multicenter trial and reported at the annual meeting of the Infectious Disease Society for Obstetrics/Gynecology (IDSOG), held in Monterey, Calif. Dr. Rodney Edwards from the University of Florida reported that the sensitivity of the new test was 91% and the specificity was 96%, used in both antepartum and intrapartum clinical settings. Intrapartum tests were performed by Labor and Delivery nurses after a short training session. Using real-time PCR technology, results are usually available in 70 minutes, which should be timely enough to begin antibiotic prophylaxis for those mothers found to be colonized. Costs of the new technology, which has just been approved by the FDA, vary by locality, but average around $40 per specimen run.
Delaying cord clamping prevents iron deficiency
October 1st 2006Waiting 2 minutes-rather than 10 seconds-after delivery of an infant's shoulders to clamp the umbilical cord of normal-weight, full-term infants helps prevent iron deficiency from developing before 6 months of age, according to the results of a randomized, controlled trial involving almost 400 mother-infant pairs in Mexico City
Weekly prenatal steroids reduce birthweight
October 1st 2006Weekly doses of prenatal steroids do not improve overall outcome and are associated with lower birthweight and smaller size for gestational age compared to a single dose, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Endometrioma Complicated by Tubo-Ovarian Abscess in a Woman With Bacterial Vaginosis
September 27th 2006Tubo-ovarian abscess involvement of an endometrioma has been reported in cases of patients with polymicrobial sources such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and obligate anaerobic bacteria; however, bacterial vaginosis (BV) predisposing to abscess formation in an endometrioma has not been reported to date.
