Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(2):122-125
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000200008
PURPOSE: to evaluate the prevalence of hemoglobin S (HbS) in newborns, through clinical investigation and laboratory data. METHODS: a protocol established the drawing of 10 mL blood from the umbilical cord after its ligature and section, immediately after birth. The samples were kept in a tube with 5% EDTA and then submitted to high-performance liquid chromatography. The study included a clinical record taken from an interview with the mother, her physical and biochemical condition, as well as that of her newborn. Main criteria were newborn's weight, sex, first minute Apgar, and the mother's color. Statistical analysis was based on the Epi-Info 6.0 program and performed by Student's t test, with the level of significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: from August 2001 to September 2002, 389 umbilical cord blood samples showed HbS in 16 newborn babies (4.1%). Fifteen of these presented sickle-cell traits (HbS) and the other had a diagnostic hypothesis of sickle-cell anemia (HbSS). Hemoglobinopathy prevailed among male babies. No significant difference was observed between newborns with or without HbS regarding averages of weight and Apgar scores; the same occurred regarding the mother's skin color (Caucasians, mulattos and blacks). CONCLUSION: searching for hemoglobin diseases in newborns should be considered because of the possibility of 25% sickle-cell anemia in the offspring of couples with sickle-cell traits. Screening for abnormal hemoglobin is important in the population at risk. Thus, the creation of programs with these aims is recommended to be included in hospital routines.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(2):75-80
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000200002
PURPOSE: to determine the prevalence of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and cancer in women with cytological diagnosis of persistent ASCUS (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance) for 6 months in the last 7 years. We also assessed if age could be a predictive factor for presence of HSIL/cancer in this group. METHODS: we included 215 cases of non-pregnant and HIV-seronegative women with cytological diagnosis of persistent ASCUS (unespecific) with at least 6 months of interval between smears. This cytological diagnosis was compared to histological diagnosis obtained by biopsy (large loop excision of the transformation zone) or cone biopsies, and considered negative when colposcopy was satisfactory without lesions or, when unsatisfactory, no lesion was detected after at least one cytological and colposcopic follow-up. RESULTS: among the 215 cases, 49.3% had negative results (CI 95%: 42.6-55.9). The prevalence of histological confirmed low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion was 38.6% (CI 95%: 32.1- 45.1) and HSIL was 10.7% (CI 95%: 6.5-14.8). Cases of cancer were found in 1.4% of patients (CI 95%: 0-2.9). We could not find a significant difference between the prevalence of HSIL/cancer according to age group using the cutoff point of 35 years. CONCLUSION: HSIL/cancer prevalence observed in this study has shown the risk of finding this kind of lesions in about 12% of women assisted in our public health system with two cytological diagnosis of ASCUS. A higher probability of HSIL/cancer in the different age groups was not found but this result was limited by our small sample size.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(2):81-90
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000200003
PURPOSE: to evaluate the incidence and types of major congenital malformations (MCM) in liveborn children conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). METHODS: a total of 680 liveborn children resulted from 511 couples submitted to ICSI from January, 1999 to December, 2002. Data collection of the children was performed through standardized questionnaire and clinical examination. Of the 511 couples, 366 had been contacted for a sampling of 371 gestations. Of the 680 liveborn, 520 had been evaluated, 250 of them (48.1%) through questionnaire and 270 (51.9%) through questionnaire and physical examination. Two hundred and fifty children were from singleton pregnancies and 270 from multiple pregnancies. Malformations were classified according to the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health. Only MCM were analyzed in this study. The incidence of MCM was compared with that of the general population obtained by the Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations. The statistical analysis was performed by the c² test (level of significance p<0.05). RESULTS: of the 520 children, 15 presented MCM, resulting in an incidence of 2.9%. There was no difference in relation to the control group (p>0.05), which showed 2.6% incidence of MCM. The most frequent malformations were of cardiac origin (four isolated and two associated), corresponding to 40% of the total. The other types of MCM were: renal (three), neural tube (two), skull (one), cleft lip (one), genital (one), Down syndrome (associated with cardiac malformations) (two), and musculoskeletal (one). Six MCM occurred in children from singleton pregnancies and nine in children from multiple pregnancies. CONCLUSION: the liveborn children conceived by ICSI presented incidence of major congenital malformations (2.9%) near to the expected for the general population (2.6%). However, to establish the risks of MCM with precision it is necessary to continue the evaluation of the children conceived by ICSI.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(2):91-100
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000200004
PURPOSE: to evaluate the efficacy of the use of isoflavones in the treatment of depressive symptoms in climacteric women. METHODS: placebo-controlled, randomized double-blind experimental study with 84 climacteric women who were assisted at the Lauro Wanderley University Hospital Ambulatory, in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. In the evaluation of the depressive symptoms the Self-evaluation questionnare of Hamilton's rating scale for depresion (QAEH-D) was used in the pretreatment visit (VT1), and in the 8th (VT2) and 16th (VT3) week after treatment. The experimental group (GExp) received soy extract with isoflavones, 120 mg per day, and the control group (GCont), placebo. The comparison of the scores of the QAEH-D between the VT1, VT2 and VT3 groups constituted the primary measure of efficacy (t test, p<0.05). Secondary analysis included the estimate of the "domino hypothesis" and the clinical and laboratory evaluation of side effects. RESULTS: there was a significant reduction of the QAEH-D scores in the GExp (VT2
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(1):10-17
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000100003
PURPOSE: to describe to emotional process experienced with termination of pregnancy after the diagnosis of lethal fetal malformation. METHODS: thirty-five pregnant women who underwent termination of pregnancy for lethal fetal anomaly after judicial permission were interviewed. The most frequent fetal malformation was anencephaly (71.5%). The patients were submitted to an open interview as soon as the diagnosis of fetal malformation was confirmed, allowing them to express their feelings and stimulating them to think about asking for termination of pregnancy. The mean time spent until the judicial agreement was 16.6 days. The women who requested and were submitted to the procedure of abortion were invited to return for psychological evaluation after 30-60 days. At this moment, a semi-structured interview was performed to find the emotional aspects and feelings that existed. RESULTS: thirty-five patients were interviewed. The decision-making feelings about termination of pregnancy were negative for 60%, 51.4% declared that they had no doubts about the assumed decision and 65.7% declared that their own opinion was more important for decision than anyone else's. Most of the women (89%) affirmed to remember the facts about the procedure that they experienced, 91% affirmed that they would have the same attitude in the case of another similar situation in the future and 60% declared that they would advise someone to opt for termination of pregnancy if asked about the same situation. CONCLUSIONS: the anguish experienced showed that the process of thinking is very important for the decision-making process and posterior satisfaction with the assumed posture. The psychological follow-up allows to review the moral and cultural values in order to help the decision-making process with the aim of minimizing the suffering.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(1):18-23
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000100004
PURPOSE: to characterize postmenopausal endometrial polyps and to determine risk for concomitant premalignant and malignant pathology. METHODS: a retrospective study including 82 postmenopausal women with a histological diagnosis of endometrial polyps who underwent hysteroscopic polypectomy, after a diagnosis of endometrial thickening made by transvaginal ultrasound, was performed. Medical reports provided clinical and gynecological history, data related to the operative hysteroscopy and definitive histological findings. RESULTS: among the 82 patients who underwent hysteroscopic polypectomy, 10.9% were receiving some type of hormonal therapy. Twenty-eight women (34.1%) reported abnormal vaginal bleeding. Single polyp was encountered in 56 women (68.3%), two polyps were found in 19 cases (23.2%) and in 7 cases (3.6%), three or more polyps were found. The definitive histopathologic analysis revealed 63 (76.8%) benign polyps, 17 (20.8%) hyperplastic polyps (10 cases 12.2% - of simple endometrial hyperplasia without cytologic atypia and 7 cases 8.6% - of complex endometrial hyperplasia without cytologic atypia). Two polyps (2.4%) were diagnosed as harboring neoplasia. For the statistical analysis we employed chi2 test improved by Yates. The authors correlated the polyps' histology with the occurrence of abnormal vaginal bleeding (p=0.0056), number of endometrial polyps (p=0.921) and time after menopause (p=0.720). CONCLUSIONS: endometrial polyps are commonly found entities in postmenopausal women, related with low frequency to endometrial hyperplasia or carcinomas and only histological evaluation seems to allow the exclusion of premalignant and malignant pathology.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(1):24-31
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000100005
PURPOSE: to verify the coverage and factors associated with Papanicolaou (Pap) testing in Londrina (PR), Brazil. METHODS: this is a cross-sectional study, carried out in 2004, in microareas of five Basic Health Units (BHU) of Londrina. One or two microareas from each BHU were selected and a list of all women aged 20-59 years resident in these places, was made through search in the Basic Attention Information System, the women being then visited and interviewed. Those with a Pap test in the last three years were considered as having an updated examination, and the remaining as delayed. The association of some factors with the examination situation was investigated. Data analysis was performed using Epi-Info 6.04d. RESULTS: Pap smear coverage among the 513 participants of the study was 80.7%, ranging from 71.5% to 88.4%. Delay in taking the test was higher (p<0.05) among women who worked only at home (22.4% as compared with 14.3% among those who worked outside), and among those who belonged to D/E social classes (24.9%) as compared to C (17.5%) and A/B (8.3%) classes. The proportion who ignored the next test date was higher (p<0.01) among those who had the last Papanicolaou testing at a BHU (14.7%), as compared to those who had been attended privately or by a health insurance company (5.8%). CONCLUSION: the coverage of Pap smear in the studied areas can be considered satisfactory, although there is a need of improving compliance with Pap test, mainly among women who are the poorest and who work only at home.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2006;28(1):3-9
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032006000100002
PURPOSE: to build a curve of fundal height according to gestational age among low-risk pregnant women and to compare it with the official standards used in Brazil. METHODS: a prospective observational study was carried out. A sample of 227 low-risk pregnant women with gestational age from 13 to 39 weeks was followed-up in the prenatal care sector of two public health services from João Pessoa, PB. Women with a known gestational age, a single live fetus, without malformation, with no known maternal-fetal pathological condition that could possibly affect fetal growth, with a normal body weight, and non-smokers were included in the study. Their fundal height was measured in a standard way, after a previous ultrasound done to confirm the gestational age. The same investigator performed 1206 measurements and each woman had a mean of 5.3 measurements. Statistical tests were performed with a significance level of 5%. Tables and graphs of fundal height were built according to the gestational age with the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles. RESULTS: the values of percentiles 10, 50 and 90 of fundal height in each gestational age allowed the construction of a pattern curve of fundal height by gestational age among low-risk pregnant women. A clear visual difference was observed between this new and the official fundal height curve. Statistical analyses showed significant differences between them from the 19th week on. CONCLUSION: the results suggest different normal fundal height and fetal growth patterns among low-risk pregnant women on prenatal assistance compared to the used standard curve, thus with different performances when used for diagnosing fetal growth deviations. Future studies should validate the current fundal height curve by gestational age in order to possibly use it as a reference pattern.