Introduction: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women across the globe. Women prisoners are a vulnerable population, so timely provision of screening programs is of utmost ...importance in this population. Aim: To screen female prisoners for cervical cancer using visual inspection with acetic acid method. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on women inmates in one of the largest prisons of North India. A total of 181 women prisoners aged 18 and older were interviewed using a questionnaire. After an informed consent, women were screened using Visual Inspection with Acetic acid (VIA). Results: Majority of the women (74.03%) were between 21 to 40 years. Ninety-one women (50.2%) were illiterate. Majority of the women (123) had between one and three pregnancies. Majority (43) used condoms as a birth control method. Thirty-eight women (20.9%) had multiple partners. Among 181 women who were screened for cervical cancer, 22.6% were VIA positive. Conclusion: Women prisoners are at a high risk of cervical cancer because of increased prevalence of risk factors in them. Screening and intervention programs must be in place to ensure organisation of health services within the prison environment so that screening, diagnosis and treatment for cervical carcinoma can be provided at early stages with improved prognosis.
Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic and connective tissue disorder affecting 1 in every 50000 live birth that causes skin to be very fragile and blister easily. Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex ...(EBS) is the most common of all EB and it presents at birth or during the neonatal period. Diagnosis of EB is mainly clinical and can be confirmed by genetic analysis of the parents and the patient. There is presently no definite cure for EB and treatment is only conservative to alleviate symptoms and provide supportive care. We present a case report of a neonate born with reddish discolouration and peeling of skin of fingers of both hands which progressively developed into fluid filled vesicles over the abdomen and buttocks. The biopsy of the lesions was deferred due to financial constraints and a clinical diagnosis of EBS was made. The newborn was started on injectable antibiotics and given supportive therapy in the form of daily wound care and protective bandaging with which she improved and was discharged on 10th postnatal day in stable condition.
Labial adhesions occur most often in infants and young girls and are associated with low oestrogen levels. Herein, we report a case of labial adhesion in a 24-year-old young girl, who presented with ...acute retention of urine. Clinical examination revealed normally developed external genitalia and a thin membrane occluding the introital opening. Her secondary sexual characters were normal; the most probable cause being acute vaginitis, her hormonal profile was not done. Patient was managed with sharp excision of membrane followed by local application of antibiotics. Patient was asymptomatic at three months follow-up with completely healed labia. Hence, all women including unmarried ones who present with urinary complaint need to have a complete gynaecological examination as the two can be related.
Bartsocas-Papas Syndrome (BPS) is a very rare autosomal recessive syndrome characterised by marked craniofacial deformities, multiple pterygia of various joints, limb and genital abnormalities. It is ...mostly associated with mutation in the gene encoding Receptor Interacting Serine/Threonine Kinase 4 (RIPK4) required for keratinocyte differentiation. The syndrome is generally lethal and majority of babies die in-utero or in the early neonatal period. This is a report about a neonate born with characteristic clinical features of BPS including severe craniofacial and ophthalmic abnormalities, limb deformities and multiple pterygia at popliteal, axillary and inguinal region. The baby had respiratory distress at birth and was managed conservatively on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)/Oxygen hood and injectable antibiotics for two weeks and then referred for further work-up to a tertiary hospital. The parents took the baby home against the advice of the treating doctors and she subsequently died after 10 days. BPS is associated with high mortality and so all efforts should be directed towards diagnosing it early antenatally when termination of pregnancy is a viable option. This is possible by having a high index of suspicion in couples with consanguineous marriages or with a positive family history.
Systems genetics is key for integrating a large number of variants associated with diseases. Vitamin K (VK) is one of the scarcely studied disease conditions. In this work, we ascertained the ...differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and variants associated with individual subpopulations of VK disease phenotypes,
., myocardial infarction, renal failure and prostate cancer. We sought to ask whether or not any DEGs harbor pathogenic variants common in these conditions, attempt to bridge the gap in finding characteristic biomarkers and discuss the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the biogenesis of VK deficiencies.
To assess various causes of maternal mortality over a ten year period.
Retrospective audit of hospital case records.
Tertiary care hospital.
Pregnant women who expired in the premises of GTB ...Hospital.
A retrospective audit of case records of maternal deaths was conducted for a ten year period (January 2005 to December 2014).
There were a total of 647 maternal deaths out of 1,16,641 live births. Sixty-eight percent (n = 445) of women were aged 21-30 years, while 10.5% (n = 68) were <20 years of age. The most common direct causes of maternal mortality were preeclampsia/eclampsia in 24.4% (n = 158), obstetric hemorrhage in 19.1% (n = 124) and puerperal sepsis in 14.5% (n = 94). With regards to indirect causes, anemia accounted for 15.3% (n = 99) mortality. There was only 1 (0.1%) mortality because of HIV/AIDS. Other notable causes of maternal mortality were infective hepatitis in 7.1% (n = 46). Tuberculosis, that is a disease of tropical countries, accounted for 3.0% (n = 20) of the total deaths.
High maternal mortality in GTB hospital can be due to it being a tertiary hospital with referrals from all neighbouring states. Accessible antenatal care can help prevent these maternal deaths. Female education can be of immense help in dealing with the problem and improving the utilization of public health facilities.
Preeclampsia/eclampsia and obstetric hemorrhage have been the main causes of maternal mortality for ages. Regular antenatal visits and the judicious training of grassroot level workers to pick-up complications early on in the pregnancy can be an effective way to deal the morbidity and mortality associated with these problems. The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) in India are pioneer steps in this direction.
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