NEWS MCI approves 3-and-a-half-year medical course, BSc in Community Health Monday, September 24, 2012

New Delhi: The Medical Council of India (MCI) has cleared introduction of the three-and-a-half-year long medical course, called BSc in Community Health. The new course is likely to be open to students who have completed Class 12 with physics, chemistry and biology.
According to MCI chairman Dr K K Talwar, this special cadre of health workers will be trained mainly in district hospitals, be placed in sub-centres or primary health centres and will be taught some module of clinical work. “We intend to introduce the course from April next year,” Dr Talwar has said.
The health ministry has been pushing for the introduction of this cadre, in order to address the shortage of doctors in rural areas. Only 26 per cent of doctors in India reside in rural areas, serving 72 per cent of India’s population. [Source: ToI]

Low cost design makes ultrasound imaging affordable to the world

London: An ultra-low cost scanner that can be plugged into any computer to show images of an unborn baby has been developed by Newcastle University engineers.

The hand-held USB device – which is roughly the size of a computer mouse – works in a similar way to existing ultrasound scanners, using pulses of high frequency sound to build up a picture of the unborn child on the computer screen.
However, unlike the technology used in most hospitals across the UK costing anywhere from £20,000-£100,000, the scanner created by Jeff Neasham and Research Associate Dave Graham at Newcastle University can be manufactured for as little as £30-40 (Rs 2,600-3,500).
Tested by experts in the Regional Medical Physics Department at the Freeman Hospital, part of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the scanner produces an output power that is 10-100 times lower than conventional hospital ultrasounds.
It is now hoped the device will be used to provide medical teams working in the world’s poorest nations with basic, antenatal information that could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children.
“Here in the UK we take these routine, but potentially lifesaving, tests for granted,” explains Neasham, a sonar expert based in the University’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
“Imaging to obtain even the simplest information such as the child’s position in the womb or how it is developing is simply not available to women in many parts of the world.
“We hope the very low cost of this device and the fact that it can run on any standard computer made in the last 10 years means basic antenatal imaging could finally be made available to all women.”

World Contraception Day 2012 .When a "mistake" can spoil the future

 

about two weeks ago I saw a girl in my clinic and found herself in a very difficult situation. She was 17 and was a inter college student in a remote place. i discovered that she was pregnant. Her parents didn't even know she had a boyfriend, AND was pregnant.

the only thing that kept going through my mind was why such a situation should arise: at that moment the only thing that came out from my mouth was: “what made you to be sexually active so early?” "weren't you on the pill? Why did you not use a condom?"She had no answer for that.

At that point in her life, having a baby would be a disaster. Not only because she needs time to raise the child, but mostly because she has no money to support it.and has to leave study. i asked her to attend post-partum center next morning.

I'm sad to say what she couldn’t find a doctor there. she went to a clandestine abortion clinic and submitted herself to a procedure that lasts no longer than few minutes. had severe bleeding but returned home with few medicines.she bled heavily, RUSHED to hospital in astage of shock .to her good luck She recovered with transfusion of three units of blood.

I didn't ask her about the abortion as nothing was congenial to her. there were OPPORTUNITIES when she could have been helped. she was afraid to see a doctor soon after missing her PERIOD BECAUSE to her it was an illegal procedure, SHE COULDN’T even consulted anyone with the fear that her parents could know about it.

for such A mistake without social support and mechanism for its redressal is bound to spoil the future of many more teens.Especially in DEVELOPING COUNTRIES like india where abortion is legal, BUT access to the abortion CENTER and availability of qualified doctor is difficult AND can socially be highly dangerous.

Talking, asking, and thinking about using contraceptive methods saves lives

FIGO reaffirms the use of misoprostol in the prevention and treatment of post-partum haemorrhage

An article by Chu et al. published in the August 2012 issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine questions the evidence that supports the use of misoprostol for the prevention of post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) at the community level. Prior to publication of the article, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) independently conducted extensive expert reviews of the scientific data and both concluded that misoprostol is a safe and effective therapy for the prevention of PPH when oxytocin is not available or cannot be safely used. In 2011, WHO added misoprostol for the prevention of PPH to its Model List of Essential Medicines.

In 2012, FIGO finalised guidelines that reflect the latest best available research on the prevention and treatment of PPH with misoprostol. The guidelines include evidence-based recommendations for dosages and routes of administration as well as the side effects and precautions associated with its use. The guidelines are available in English, French and Spanish and can be accessed through www.figo.org.

FIGO advises national societies to continue the use of misoprostol for the prevention and treatment of PPH when oxytocin is not available or is not feasible.

Unforeseen consequences of the increasing rate of cesarean deliveries: early placenta accreta and cesarean scar pregnancy.

                                                                                                                                    

A review; Timor-Tritsch IE, Monteagudo A; American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 207 (1), 14-29    (July2012)                                                                                                                            This review concentrates on 2 consequences of cesarean deliveries that may occur in a

 subsequent pregnancy. They are the pathologically adherent placenta and the cesarean 
scar pregnancy. They explored their clinical and diagnostic as well as therapeutic
 similarities, reviewed the literature concerning the occurrence of early placenta 
accreta and cesarean section scar pregnancy.               
The review resulted in several conclusions:

(1) the diagnosis of placenta accreta and cesarean scar pregnancy is difficult; 

(2) transvaginal ultrasound seems to be the best diagnostic tool to establish the diagnosis; 

(3) an early and correct diagnosis may prevent some of their complications;

(4) curettage and systemic methotrexate therapy and embolization as single treatments should be    avoided if possible; and 

(5) in the case of cesarean scar pregnancy, local methotrexate- and hysteroscopic-directed procedures had the lowest complication rates.

Maternal tea consumption during early pregnancy and the risk of spina bifida, Birth Defects Research, 06/07/2012

 

Yazdy MM et al. – The data do not support an overall association between tea consumption and spina bifida, but there is a suggestion of a possible interaction between higher levels of folic acid intake and tea consumption.
Methods

• Using data collected in the Slone Epidemiology Center Birth Defects Study, they examined whether tea consumption during early pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of spina bifida.
• Mothers of 518 spina bifida cases and 6424 controls were interviewed within 6 months after delivery about pregnancy events and exposures.
• Data on tea intake were collected during three periods (1976–1988, 1998–2005 and 2009–2010).

Results

• Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for study center. Intake of both periconceptional food folate and diet and supplemental folic acid were examined as a potential effect modifier.
• For 1976 to 1988, ORs were not elevated for daily tea intake.
• For 1998 and onward, ORs were also close to 1.0, but there was a modest increase for those who drank more than 3 cups/day (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 0.84–4.38).
• Among women with total folic acid intake greater than 400 μg, consumption of 3 cups or more of tea per day was associated with an increased risk of spina bifida in 1976 to 1988 (OR, 2.04; 95% CI, 0.69–7.66) and in the later periods (OR, 3.13; 95% CI, 0.87–11.33).

Read more: http://www.mdlinx.com/obstetrics-gynecology/news-article.cfm/4089617/pregnancy#ixzz24IKBYOhK

Breast-Milk Compound May Shield Babies From HIV Only 10% to 15% of breast-fed infants get virus from infected mothers, researchers say

 

FRIDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A compound found in breast milk may help prevent HIV-infected mothers from passing the virus on to their infants, a new study suggests.

"In developing countries, HIV-infected mothers are faced with the decision of whether or not to breast-feed their babies," study leader Lars Bode, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, said in a school news release. "Breast-feeding exposes the baby to the virus and increases the risk of the baby dying from HIV infection, but not breast-feeding increases the risk for the baby to die from other intestinal or respiratory infections."
Bode and his colleagues set out to find out why the vast majority of breast-fed infants -- estimated by the study authors to be between 85 percent and 90 percent -- don't acquire the AIDS-causing virus.
The team of international researchers said certain components in breast milk known as human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) may offer babies protection from HIV. HMO is a type of carbohydrate made up of several simple sugars that aren't digestible. They accumulate on the surfaces of infants' gastrointestinal tract, the researchers said.
The scientists analyzed HMO levels and composition in the breast milk of more than 200 HIV-positive women involved in a study in Zambia, Africa. The women's infants were followed from birth until they were 24 months old.
The study found that higher concentrations of HMO in breast milk were associated with greater protection against the spread of HIV to babies.
"HMO act as prebiotics that promote the growth of desirable bacterial communities in the infant's intestine," Bode said. They also are involved in immune cell responses and serve as decoys, preventing pathogens from binding to cells, he said.
The study uncovered a link between HMO levels and the risk of HIV infection, but did not prove that the compound blocks the virus.
The researchers suggested that more research on HMO might lead to better protection against HIV, and possibly the development of improved antiretroviral drugs.
The study was published in the Aug. 15 online edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
SOURCE: University of California, San Diego, news release, Aug. 15, 2012

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