Measuring domestic violence in human immunodeficiency virus-positive women

Background

Violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, in all socioeconomic classes. Violence and the fear of violence are emerging as important risk factor contributing to the vulnerability to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection for women. The objective of the present cross sectional study is to compare the experiences of domestic violence between HIV-positive and HIV-negative married women seeking treatment in a tertiary care hospital.

Methods

The study is conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Pune on a randomly selected 150 married women (75 HIV-positive and 75 HIV-negative). Informed consent was obtained from all the women and also a trained counsellor was present during the process of data collection. The data was collected by interview method by taking precautions as laid down in the World Health Organization's ethical and safety recommendations for research on domestic violence and using modified conflict tactics scale (CTS). The definition of violence followed is as per the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993.

Results

The percentage of women reporting domestic violence is 44.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 36.84–52.68). The proportion of physical, emotional and sexual violence reported is 38% (95% CI = 30.49–45.96), 24% (95% CI = 17.67–31.31), and 14.7% (95% CI = 9.66–21.02), respectively. The odds of reporting violence of all forms is significantly higher among HIV-positive women than among HIV-negative women (P<0.05). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression is carried out to examine the possible predictors of domestic violence.

Conclusion

The findings suggest high proportion of HIV-positive women report violence then HIV-negative women which must be addressed through multilevel prevention approaches.     

Early and mid-term angiographic and clinical results after intracoronary duet stent placement.

The Duet stent (Guidant/Advanced Cardiovascular Systems) is a new stent with a corrugated ring design and very limited data on its short- and mid-term performance. Accordingly, in this study we sought to determine the early and mid-term clinical and angiographic outcomes in a moderate-sized series of 86 consecutive patients who underwent placement of 108 premounted Duet stents in 98 coronary lesions. Procedural success, accomplished in all patients, was accompanied by a significant reduction in lesion severity from 89% +/- 11% before to 5% +/- 3% diameter stenosis after the procedure (P = 0.0001) and a 0.9% incidence of subacute stent thrombosis. Angiographic restudy at 5.7 months in 89% of eligible patients revealed a binary in-stent restenosis rate of 26%. Coronary stenting with the new Duet stent confers a low risk of stent thrombosis and a favorable mid-term clinical and angiographic outcome despite the presence of a large proportion of patients at high risk of in-stent restenosis.     

Deletions in the Y-derived amelogenin gene fragment in the Indian population

Background  

Rare failures in amelogenin-based gender typing of individuals have been observed globally. In this study, we report the deletion of a large fragment of the amelogenin gene in 10 individuals out of 4,257 male samples analyzed from 104 different endogamous populations of India.     

The management of extensive corrosive esophageal strictures: Do not dilate and procrastinate

Corrosive strictures of the esophagus are difficult to treat, however, prompt and appropriate management of corrosive burns to the esophagus can prevent the formation of strictures. In a developing country like India, where facilities for early treatment are not easily available, strictures are an ineviatable consequence. If the strictures are extensive, dilatational therapy proves ineffective and offers no substantial benefit to the patients. Twenty patients with extensive corrosive strictures of the esophagus were surgically managed; by esophageal bypass in 13 and esophagectomy in 7. Surgical treatment restored normal swallowing in all the patients. The common post-operative complications to occur were: pulmonary complications, anastomotic leak and stricture, gastric outlet obstruction and reflux esophagitis. For extensive corrosive strictures of the esophagus, we advocate early surgical treatment rather than prolonged dilatational therapy.