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The obstetric trials and tribulations of Dr. John Mackieson, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 1827-1857.

For 30 years, from 1827 to 1857, Dr. John Mackieson, a medical practitioner in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, kept a detailed account of complicated obstetric cases. An analysis of this casebook provides a unique profile of obstetric complications and their management in eastern Canada 150 years ago. The main causes of maternal death were puerperal sepsis and hemorrhage. The reported perinatal deaths most often were associated with traumatic vaginal delivery.

History, 19th Century↗

Maternity leave: existing policies in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs.

OBJECTIVE: To survey program directors in obstetrics and gynecology regarding maternity leave and to determine how programs are dealing with maternity leave coverage. METHODS: Questionnaires regarding impact and policy on maternity leave were mailed to accredited obstetrics and gynecology residency programs. RESULTS: A total of 188 of 274 (69%) questionnaires were returned completed. Respectively, 80% and 69% of respondents indicated that they have a formal maternity (maximum mean 8.7 weeks) and paternity (mean 5.27 days) leave policy. Approximately 75% of programs require residents to make up time if their leave exceeds 8 weeks during the first 3 years. Eighty-five percent of programs require residents to make up time if their leave exceeds 6 weeks during the fourth year. Ninety-three percent of programs require residents to make up time if their leave exceeds 20 weeks over the 4 years. Seventy-seven percent of respondents have other residents in their program cover for the absent resident. Thirty-seven percent of programs have schedules flexible enough to allow rearrangement so that some rotations go uncovered. Eighty-three percent of programs surveyed stated that maternity leave has a somewhat to very significant impact on the residents' schedules. CONCLUSION: Most residency programs have written maternity/paternity leave policies. A more flexible curriculum may help to accommodate the residents on leave without overburdening the residents who are left to cover.

Canada↗

Comparison of faculty, peer, self, and nurse assessment of obstetrics and gynecology residents.

This project was undertaken to determine if the addition of peer, self, and nurse evaluators would enhance faculty assessment of resident performance. An evaluation form was developed that contained 16 items under three major headings: clinical competency, interpersonal skills, and overall assessment. These forms were distributed to the 16 residents in our program, and the residents were asked to complete an evaluation form on themselves and their 15 peers. Evaluation forms were also distributed to all 14 clinical faculty members and to six members of the Obstetrics and Gynecology nursing staff. Intraclass correlation coefficients were determined for each rating group, and using the attending ratings as the gold standard, Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to determine correlations between groups of raters. The reliability of faculty ratings was good to excellent, whereas resident ratings showed excellent reliability for all three measured variables. Ratings provided by the nurses were the least reliable of the groups rating the residents. Compared with attending ratings, the peer ratings showed significant positive linear relationships in all categories evaluated. There was a low degree of correlation between attending and self-evaluations and attending and nurse evaluations. This small study supports the use of peer evaluations in addition to attending evaluations for Obstetrics and Gynecology residents in training. It also demonstrates that our residents may benefit from doing self-evaluations to improve their ability to honestly appraise their clinical and interpersonal skills.

Clinical Competence↗

A profile of directors of clerkships in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States and Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To describe current professional activities, demographic profiles, and attitudes of directors of clerkships in university and community teaching sites. METHODS: Written surveys were mailed to departments of obstetrics and gynecology in the United States and Canada. Results were analyzed for differences in demographics, professional activities, and responses to statements describing career development of medical teachers and levels of institutional support. RESULTS: Responses from 132 of 148 (89%) medical schools and 67 of 96 (70%) known community-based clerkship directors showed no significant differences between the two groups in demographics or professional responsibilities. Three-quarters were men. The mean age was 47 years, mean duration as a faculty member 11 years, and mean tenure as clerkship director 8 years. One-half had been a clerkship director less than 5 years. The average clerkship director reported working approximately 56 hours per week, of which 44% was devoted primarily to patient care, 24% to teaching, and 18% to administration. These faculty members describe the activities of their position as fulfilling and worthy of recognition in the academic promotions process. CONCLUSION: Directors of clinical clerkships in obstetrics and gynecology in both university- and community-based programs spend about one-half of their time in teaching and administration. They find their work fulfilling and worthwhile. Profiles are consistent over time and comparable to those described by clerkship directors in other specialties.

Adult↗

Internal and external anal sphincter anatomy as it relates to midline obstetric lacerations.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the anatomy of the internal and external anal sphincters in the area of midline obstetric lacerations, to gain insight into sphincter damage and repair. METHODS: The length, craniocaudal extent, and overlap of the internal and external anal sphincters in the perineal body were measured in 17 cadavers. Further anatomic observations were made in four sets of whole pelvis cross-sections taken in the sagittal, coronal, and transverse planes. During the repair of 20 acute fourth-degree lacerations, observations were made to determine the internal sphincter visibility following birth. RESULTS: The external and internal and sphincters overlap by 17.0 mm (standard deviation [SD] 6.9), with the internal sphincter lying between the external sphincter and the anal canal. The internal sphincter extends an additional 12.2 mm (SD 5.9) cranial to the proximal extent of the external sphincter, whereas the caudal margin of the internal sphincter lies 3.7 mm (SD 7.2) cranial to the distal margin of the external sphincter. In pregnant women who sustained a fourth-degree laceration, we found that the internal sphincter can be identified as a rubbery white layer adjacent to the anal submucosa lying between the external sphincter and the anal canal. CONCLUSION: The internal anal sphincter lies between the anal mucosa and the external anal sphincter and extends more than a centimeter above the cranial margin of the external sphincter, a region where it is disrupted when a fourth-degree obstetric laceration has occurred.

Aged↗

Satisfaction with obstetric care: relation to neonatal intensive care.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between admitting children to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and mothers' satisfaction with obstetric care. METHODS: Mothers of live-born infants who are now normal were interviewed about their perceptions of the interpersonal, organizational, and technical care they and their babies received during pregnancy, delivery, and the neonatal period, and their and their infants' health. Comparisons between the responses of mothers whose babies were admitted to the normal nursery (n = 595) and those whose babies were sent to an NICU (n = 72) were made by chi2 analysis (1 df) and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. RESULTS: Mothers whose babies were admitted to an NICU were more likely to complain that their obstetricians did not explain things in terms they could understand (P < .05); did not give them the right amount of information about what to expect during pregnancy (P < .05); hid something from them before delivery (P < .001); did not explain the reasons for tests performed during delivery (P < .05); misled them about their child's prognosis (P < .001); failed to treat properly a problem during delivery (P < .05); and did not know the latest medical developments (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Even when children do well, admission of newborns to an NICU is associated with greater maternal dissatisfaction with obstetric care.

Adult↗

A two-term MEDLINE search strategy for identifying randomized trials in obstetrics and gynecology.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and test a simple MEDLINE search strategy for identification of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in obstetrics and gynecology. METHODS: To develop our search strategy, we asked clinicians in our department to indicate, from a list of search terms, the terms they would use to identify RCTs in MEDLINE. The two most common terms, controlled-clinical-trial (publication type) and randomized-controlled-trial (publication type), were combined with the link word, OR, and then used to identify RCTs in four obstetrics and gynecology journals for the years 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, and 1995. Concurrently, a handsearch of these same journals and years was performed to identify RCTs. The sensitivity and precision of MEDLINE and handsearch were calculated using the total number of RCTs identified by both methods as a reference standard. Sensitivity is the RCTs identified by search strategy as a percentage of all RCTs identified by reference standard. Precision is the RCTs identified by a search strategy as a percentage of all articles identified by it. RESULTS: The overall sensitivity of our MEDLINE search strategy was 72.5%, and the precision was 83.4%. Over 2 decades, sensitivity of our MEDLINE search increased from 0% to 94.9% (P < .001), while its precision dropped from 100% to 75.5% (P=.003). For 1990 and 1995 combined, sensitivity and precision of our MEDLINE search strategy were 90.3% and 79.6%, respectively. Overall sensitivity for handsearch was 96.5%; its precision was 5.0%. Over 2 decades, the sensitivity of handsearch dropped insignificantly from 100% to 92.3% (P=.05), while the precision increased from 2.6% to 6.3% (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Our simple MEDLINE search strategy has a high sensitivity and precision, especially in more recent years. Obstetricians and gynecologists may use it to search quickly for RCTs to guide patient care.

Gynecology↗

Obstetric events leading to anal sphincter damage.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the obstetric factors relating to anal sphincter injury at first vaginal delivery by prospective cohort study of primiparous women. METHODS: We compared the results of a bowel function questionnaire and anal vector manometry before and 6 weeks after delivery in 184 primiparous women. Postpartum, pudendal nerve conduction latency was measured in all women, and anal endosonography was performed in 81 with altered fecal continence or abnormal physiology. RESULTS: Sixteen (9%) women, none of whom had altered fecal continence, were delivered by cesarean. After vaginal delivery, 42 of 168 (25%) women had impairment of fecal continence and 76 of 168 (45%) women had abnormal anal physiology. Instrumental vaginal delivery was associated with an 8.1-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.7, 24.0; P < .001) risk of anal sphincter injury and a 7.2-fold (95% CI 2.8, 18.6; P < .001) risk of symptoms. Duration of the second stage of labor beyond 60 minutes led to a 1.7-fold (95% CI 1.14, 2.48; P;< .01) risk of anal sphincter injury and a 1.6-fold (95% CI 1.03, 2.6, P = .01) risk of symptoms. Epidural analgesia, used in 58% of vaginal deliveries, prolonged the second stage of labor (P = .004; odds ratio [OR] 7.7; 95% CI 4.0, 14.7) and was associated with increased risk of sphincter injury (P = .02; OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.1, 4.0) and of symptoms (P = .02; OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.1, 3.7). CONCLUSION: Instrumental delivery and a second stage of labor prolonged by epidural analgesia are the obstetric factors that pose the greatest risk of injury to the anal sphincter mechanism in primiparous vaginal delivery.

Anal Canal↗

Motivation and reward factors that affect private physician involvement in an obstetrics and gynecology clerkship.

OBJECTIVE: The Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University has 163 private-practice obstetricians and gynecologists teaching clerkship students, on a volunteer basis, in six Michigan cities. The department wanted to learn what motivates their involvement in the department's required clerkship, to determine their attitudes toward private office teaching, and to determine what incentives are important to them in their role as educators. METHODS: The department developed a questionnaire that was mailed to the obstetricians and gynecologists involved in its required obstetrics and gynecology clerkship. The response rate was 68% (111 of 163). RESULTS: Respondents indicated personal and professional motivations transcend financial considerations. Almost 60% of respondents reported at least a moderate interest in teaching in their private offices in spite of perceived negative consequences, such as adverse impact on patient flow. The incentives in which private practitioners were primarily interested included seminars or meetings that would enhance their teaching skills or educational contribution; discounts on computers, athletic and cultural events, and books; and university support in producing educational materials. CONCLUSION: Departments using private practitioners in medical education need to nurture the relationship continually with their volunteer faculty. Faculty development aimed at assisting private practitioners with their teaching role in the ambulatory care setting might be extremely worthwhile. Financial remuneration may not be key to attracting and retaining volunteer faculty. The implications of pay arrangements for volunteer faculty should be considered carefully before implementation.

Adult↗

Formal teaching of surgical skills in an obstetric-gynecologic residency.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a formal teaching program of basic surgical skills in an obstetric-gynecologic residency program and evaluate its effectiveness. METHODS: A surgical skills program was developed for all residents. Using bench and animal laboratory sessions, residents were given instruction and performed both laparoscopic and open abdominal procedures. All were given a pretest and were tested again 6 months later. Residents also evaluated their experiences. RESULTS: To date, the formal teaching sessions have been given to 24 residents, all of whom believed their confidence and technical skills improved as a result of the sessions. On a scale of 1 to 5, the median rating of the bench laboratory experience was 5 (range 4-5), and the pig laboratory was 5 (range 4-5). All residents believed the surgery sessions should be continued and the number of sessions increased. Preliminary evaluation indicated that time to suture a 10-inch incision decreased by 28%, from an average of 225 (standard deviation [SD] 51) seconds to 171 (SD 43) seconds (P < .001), and evaluation of surgical technique significantly improved at the second pretest (P = .013). Laparoscopic placement of pegs on a board in 2 minutes increased from an average of 5 (SD 2.5) to 7.3 (SD 2.6; P = .001). The cost of the bench laboratory sessions was minimal. Each pig was approximately $100, and the facility charge for each 4-hour laboratory session was $1500. CONCLUSION: When formal surgical training was given to obstetric-gynecologic residents, their surgical skills improved subjectively and objectively.

Adult↗

A breast clinic in a department of obstetrics and gynecology.

In 1988, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University of Southern California School of Medicine; created its own Breast Diagnostic Center for training resident physicians and providing breast care for outpatients and inpatients of Women's and Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, California. The structure and function of the Breast Diagnostic Center allow residents to be directly involved in and responsible for evaluation and care of benign breast problems and allow comprehensive breast-care education and integration of referral breast services for residents and patients. Direct faculty supervision, uniform history and physical records on printed forms, fine-needle aspirations and breast biopsies, and staff assistance with follow-up and patient tracking maximize resident physician education and experience. This departmental approach to resident physician training in breast care can be adapted to the resources and logistics of any department of obstetrics and gynecology.

Breast Diseases↗

An ACOG-affiliated medical student obstetrics and gynecology club.

An ACOG-affiliated obstetrics and gynecology club for medical students was developed at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to introduce medical students to the specialty early in their careers, to educate them about obstetrician-gynecologists effect on women's health, and to guide them through exploration of the field. With ACOG District III Fellow and Junior Fellow support and collaboration, the club was formed and operational within 6 months. Because of this club students feel included in the district and national organizations by participating in Junior Fellow and Fellow activities. Through Junior Fellow activities, medical students get first-hand exposure to numerous obstetrics and gynecology residency programs. Through workshops and noncredit electives, medical students receive personal mentoring by Fellows and Junior Fellows. Students participate in community projects and from those programs can better understand the needs of women, especially women with inadequate or no health insurance. The collaboration between Junior Fellows, Fellows, and medical students is the most important component in establishing a student-run club affiliated with ACOG. This project has effectively introduced students to the field of women's health early in their careers and could provide a model for implementation at other medical schools.

Adult↗

Workforce projections for subspecialists in obstetrics and gynecology.

OBJECTIVE: To project the future supply of practicing subspecialists in obstetrics and gynecology based on the most recent numbers of physicians entering fellowships. METHODS: A discrete actuarial model was developed, and supply projections were examined using 1999 subspecialty fellowship numbers from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. RESULTS: The numbers of obstetrician-gynecologists entering subspecialty fellowships in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) and reproductive endocrinology-infertility (REI) declined sharply between 1994 and 1999. There was a slow increase in gynecologic oncology (GO) fellows. Projections show that the numbers of practicing MFM and GO subspecialists will double by 2020, but they will be serving a 20% larger female population in the United States. Numbers of practicing REI subspecialists will increase slowly. CONCLUSION: The number of fellows in GO continues to enlarge progressively though slightly, whereas those in MFM and REI have fallen sharply in recent years. Among four possible factors affecting growth or decline, the ones that seem most important are existing career opportunities for both generalist and subspecialist obstetrician-gynecologists and the length of subspecialty education.

Career Choice↗

Videoteleconferencing for administration of a multisite obstetrics and gynecology core clerkship.

Recent changes and trends in health care delivery have required medical schools to use multiple sites to obtain adequate patient exposure for their students. Decentralization of clinical undergraduate medical education may lead to a lack of continuity in curricula, evaluation, and feedback. We describe the use of interactive videoteleconferencing as a tool to link and improve a multi-site undergraduate core clerkship in obstetrics and gynecology. The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, currently utilizes five geographically separate sites for its 6-week core clerkship in obstetrics and gynecology. The site coordinators, clerkship director, and administrative personnel from the parent institution meet approximately 3 weeks after the completion of each core clerkship for live, real-time, and interactive broadcast to complete student evaluations, review curricula, and discuss problems with current students and other pertinent educational issues. Videoteleconferencing provides a mechanism to ensure consistency in curriculum and student evaluations and provides administrative support to distant sites. Furthermore, it enables site coordinators to keep the clerkship director abreast of students and clerkship issues.

Clinical Clerkship↗

A study of the referral patterns of obstetric clinics and the performance of receiving neonatal intensive care units in Taiwan.

To study the referral patterns of obstetric clinics, and the performance of receiving intensive care units measured by the survival of transported neonates, transport records were collected prospectively between July, 1991 and June, 1992. Two hundred and fifty-four transported neonates born in 51 obstetric clinics (level I units) in Tainan City and County, in southern Taiwan, were enrolled in this study. Nineteen percent of the transported neonates were very low birthweight infants (< 1500 g). Nearly equal numbers of them were transported to eight district hospitals (level II units) and to a tertiary center (level III unit), but these infants were 1.5 times more likely to die in a level II unit than a level III unit. In addition, equal numbers of infants assisted by mechanical ventilators were transported to level II and III units, but these infants were three times more likely to die in a level II unit than a level III unit (P = 0.006). Seventy-seven percent of the normal birthweight infants (> or = 2500 g) were transported to level II units, and the mortality in this group was 12.3% compared with 0% in those transported to the level III unit. Approximately 56% of these normal birthweight infants in level II units died of severe birth asphyxia. The referral patterns of level 1 units had an unfavorable effect on the survival of neonates requiring mechanical ventilation. Enhancing the skills of the staff in level I units to recognize and stabilize such infants, elevating the capability of level II units in treating some of these cases, and increasing the hospital beds for level III care are necessary to increase their chance of survival.

Health Services Research↗

Management of obstetrical brachial plexus palsy evaluation, prognosis, and primary surgical treatment.

Primary surgery for obstetrical brachial plexus lesions is a young field of surgical expertise that offers the possibility of improved functional ability in carefully selected patients who would otherwise be faced with lifelong impairment and secondary skeletal deformities. One major challenge in this area of peripheral nerve surgery is the selection of patients most likely to derive benefit from surgical intervention. The key to the development of selection criteria and to the resolution of other considerations (such as the determination of root avulsion) is consistency, accuracy, and careful reporting of natural history and outcome data. In particular, we strongly feel that a statistically sound technique of assessment must be consistently applied from the time of presentation through long-term follow-up. Advancement to date has resulted from the application of evidence-based recommendations from large, well-designed, meticulous studies. As the field of obstetrical brachial plexopathy management continues to evolve, we can expect that questions will continue to be answered using such scientific methodology.

Brachial Plexus↗

Combination hydrocodone and ibuprofen versus combination oxycodone and acetaminophen in the treatment of postoperative obstetric or gynecologic pain.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of combination hydrocodone and ibuprofen with that of combination oxycodone and acetaminophen in the treatment of moderate to severe postoperative obstetric or gynecologic pain. BACKGROUND: Hydrocodone 7.5 mg with ibuprofen 200 mg is the only approved fixed-dose combination analgesic containing an opioid and ibuprofen. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, single-dose, active-comparator, placebo-controlled study compared the effects of a 2-tablet dose of hydrocodone 7.5 mg and ibuprofen 200 mg with those of a 2-tablet dose of oxycodone 5 mg and acetaminophen 325 mg and placebo. Analgesia was assessed over 8 hours. RESULTS: Mean pain relief (PR) scores were similar for the hydrocodone with ibuprofen and oxycodone with acetaminophen groups (n = 61 and 59, respectively) at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 7 hours and significantly greater for the hydrocodone with ibuprofen group at 5, 6, and 8 hours (P < or = 0.05). Mean pain intensity difference (PID) scores were similar for hydrocodone with ibuprofen and oxycodone with acetaminophen at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4 hours and significantly greater for hydrocodone with ibuprofen at 5, 6, 7, and 8 hours (P < or = 0.05). Total PR scores were similar for hydrocodone with ibuprofen and oxycodone with acetaminophen for the 0- to 3- and 0- to 4-hour intervals and significantly greater for hydrocodone with ibuprofen for the 0- to 6- and 0- to 8-hour intervals (P < 0.05). The sum of the PID scores was similar for hydrocodone with ibuprofen and oxycodone with acetaminophen for the 0- to 3-, 0- to 4-, 0- to 6-, and 0- to 8-hour intervals. The median estimated time to onset of analgesia, mean peak PR score, median time to remedication, and mean global assessment score were similar for hydrocodone with ibuprofen and oxycodone with acetaminophen. Assay sensitivity was demonstrated by the presence of statistically significant differences between both active treatments and placebo (n = 60). The number of patients experiencing adverse events was similar for each of the 3 groups (11 [18.0%], hydrocodone with ibuprofen; 7 [11.9%], oxycodone with acetaminophen; and 6 [10.0%], placebo). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a 2-tablet dose of combination hydrocodone 7.5 mg and ibuprofen 200 mg was as effective as a 2-tablet dose of combination oxycodone 5 mg and acetaminophen 325 mg in the treatment of moderate to severe postoperative obstetric or gynecologic pain. Both treatments were superior to placebo. The results of this study suggest that the combination of hydrocodone 7.5 mg and ibuprofen 200 mg may offer prescribers an additional option in combination pain therapy.

Acetaminophen↗

Somatic complaints among pregnant women cared for in obstetrics: normal pregnancy or depressive and anxiety symptom amplification revisited?

Despite the extensive research documenting the significance of medically unexplained somatic symptoms in primary care patients, few studies have examined somatic symptoms as a predictor of depressive and anxiety disorders among pregnant women cared for in Obstetrics. We utilized the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) to assess current depressive and anxiety disorders and self-reported somatic symptoms among 186 women receiving prenatal care. We examined the bivariate relationships between depressive and anxiety disorders and mean number of somatic symptoms. Linear regression analyses assessed the unique association between maternal depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms, while controlling for selected demographics and maternal medical risk. Twenty three percent (N=43) of women met screening criteria for depressive and/or anxiety disorders. Women with depression and/or anxiety were significantly more likely to report somatic symptoms (mean=7.1, SD=2.6) compared to women without depression or anxiety (mean=5.0, SD=2.6) [t(df)=4.54(184), P<.001]. This association persisted in multivariate models. Our findings suggest that antenatal depressive and anxiety disorders are associated with an amplification of physical symptoms of pregnancy. Eliciting and tracking somatic symptoms during prenatal visits could potentially improve detection of depressive and anxiety disorders in the obstetrical sector.

Adult↗