Tattoos, childhood sexual abuse and adult psychiatric disorder in women

Summary Background: Tattoos in women have been described in clinical samples as being associated with psychopathology, child sexual abuse (CSA), personality problems or alcohol abuse. Method: A random community study of New Zealand women being primarily investigated to assess the coping strategies of those reporting CSA gathered information about tattoos, and indicators of different types of psychosocial problems. Results: Women with tattoos were more likely to be younger, to drink more alcohol, to have more psychiatric symptoms and to show borderline personality features than were the non tattooed women. They were also more likely to report CSA. Conclusions: Tattoos in women are statistically linked to CSA, and to later psychopathology in some women.     

Vaginitis in non pregnant women in Haryana.

Study was carried out in 100 patients of non-specific vaginitis (NSV) to find out the incidence of vaginitis due to G. vaginalis. Out of a total of 100 subjects 20 were positive for G. vaginalis as compared to only 6 in equal number of normal matched controls. One positive specimen showed concomitant presence of C. albicans and E. coli was found in another positive specimen. Presence of amines and clue cells in the discharge did not correlate with the isolation rate of G. vaginalis, thus emphasizing the necessity of culture to diagnose NSV due to G. vaginalis.     

Management of urinary calculi in pregnant women.

The incidence and predisposing factors of urinary calculi are generally the same in both pregnant and non pregnant women, but anatomic changes during pregnancy make diagnosis and treatment a more challenging issue. We reviewed 16 patients (22 stones) of urinary stone during pregnancy between 1986 and 1996 at Kyung Hee Medical Center. The most common symptom was flank pain, seen in 81.3% of patients, while 68.8% of patients were displayed microscopic hematuria. In all cases, diagnosis was made by abdominal ultrasound, there was no need for other harmful investigate procedures. Forty point nine percent of the total stones (9/22) were passed spontaneously, double J stenting was carried out in three cases because of persistent pain or urinary tract infection (UTI), ureteroscopic stone removal was performed in one case. Based on our experience and a review of the literature, abdominal ultrasound should be performed first and in all cases appears sufficient for the diagnosis of a stone. In case of persistent pain or urinary tract infection, a double J stent is more effective than percutaneous nephrostomy.     

Cytomegalovirus excretion in pregnant and nonpregnant women.

Cervical and urinary excretion of cytomegalovirus by Taiwanese women was identified by the presence of a cytomegalovirus-specific immediate-early gene sequence amplified by the polymerase chain reaction. Excretion rates during the first trimester of pregnancy resembled rates for nonpregnant women. As pregnancy proceeded, the cervical excretion rate increased from 13 to 40% and the urinary excretion rate increased from 1 to 13%.     

Management of chickenpox in pregnant women: an Italian perspective

Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by primary infection of varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease is spread worldwide and is usually benign but, in some groups of population like pregnant women, can have a severe outcome. Due to a not optimal vaccination coverage, a relatively high number of childbearing-aged women in a European country such as Italy tested seronegative for VZV and so are currently at risk of acquiring chickenpox during pregnancy, especially if they live in contact with children for family or work reasons. Only few data are available about the risk of infection in this setting: the incidence of chickenpox may range from 1.5 to 4.6 cases/1000 childbearing females and from 1.21 to 6 cases/10,000 pregnant women, respectively. This review is aimed to focus on the epidemiology and the clinical management of exposure to chickenpox during pregnancy. Particular emphasis is given to the accurate screening of childbearing women at the time of the first gynecological approach — the females who tested susceptible to infection can be counseled about the risks and instructed on procedure should contact occur — and to the early prophylaxis of the at-risk exposure. Lastly, the achievement of adequate vaccination coverage of the Italian population remains a cornerstone in the prevention of chickenpox in pregnancy.     

Chorangiosis. An important placental sign of neonatal morbidity and mortality

Chorangiosis is a placental change that has not been studied, to my knowledge, by investigators who publish in English. It occurs rarely in normal pregnancies. Each year, however, more than 30,000 neonates in the United States die within the first 28 days of life. Of 1,350 singleton newborns hospitalized in a regional neonatal intensive care unit, 74 (5%) had chorangiosis. One hundred thirty-four informational items of clinical, placental, and autopsy data were evaluated with a computer program written in Microsoft Basic. Depending on the gestational age of the population studied and the severity of the chorangiosis, the incidences of neonatal death and major congenital malformations were as high as 39% and 42%, respectively. Detailed findings introduce question of etiologic association with gestational diabetes, toxemia of pregnancy, and placental infection.     

IgG subclasses of anti-Rh antibodies in pregnant women.

IgG subclasses of anti-Rh antibodies in the sera of 65 pregnant women were determined. The frequency of subclasses was: IgG1-87.6%, IgG2-23.0%, IgG3-56.9% IgG4-7.7%. In different cases of Rh incompatibility, no correlation was found between the intensity of the hemolytic disease of the newborn and the pattern of IgG subclasses in maternal antibodies. On the basis of the whole material analysis it was observed, however, that the more pregnancies with fetomaternal incompatibility the women had and the more severe the course of the hemolytic disease was in their babies, the more frequently the IgG3 sublcass was present in the pattern of antibodies and the less frequent were the IgG2 and IgG4 subclasses. We have put forward the hypothesis that at the time of strong stimulation of the immunological mechanisms, antibodies are produced by many cell clones and that their activity may decline and disappear with progressing development of clones specifically producing anti-Rh antibodies of the subclasses IgG1 and IgG3.     

临产孕妇几项血清指标的变化及临床意义

目的通过检测碱性磷酸酶（ALP）、α-L-岩藻糖苷酶（AFU）、胆碱脂酶（ChE）、尿酸（UA）在临产妇女血清中含量，以探讨其临床意义。方法采集336例临产孕妇和290例健康体检女性血清标本在日本olympus公司生产的AU640全自动生化分析仪上进行检测。结果观察组与对照组各项指标比较均存在显著性差异（P〈0.001〉。结论正常晚期妊娠妇女血清中上述各酶及尿酸的变化属正常生理现象，非肝肾疾患所致，并可进一步了解胎儿的生长发育，胎盘成熟情况。