Maternal mortality and unsafe abortion

Unsafe abortions refer to terminations of unintended pregnancies by persons lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment lacking the minimum medical standards, or both. Globally, unsafe abortions account for 67,900 maternal deaths annually (13% of total maternal mortality) and contribute to significant morbidity among women, especially in under-resourced settings. The determinants of unsafe abortion include restrictive abortion legislation, lack of female empowerment, poor social support, inadequate contraceptive services and poor health-service infrastructure. Deaths from unsafe abortion are preventable by addressing the above determinants and by the provision of safe, accessible abortion care. This includes safe medical or surgical methods for termination of pregnancy and management of incomplete abortion by skilled personnel. The service must also include provision of emergency medical or surgical care in women with severe abortion complications. Developing appropriate services at the primary level of care with a functioning referral system and the inclusion of post abortion contraceptive care with counseling are essential facets of abortion care.     

Surgical management of early pregnancy failure: history, politics, and safe, cost-effective care

Early pregnancy failure and induced abortion are often managed differently, even though safe uterine evacuation is the goal in both. Early pregnancy failure is commonly treated by curettage in operating room settings in anesthetized patients. Induced abortion is most commonly managed by office vacuum aspiration in awake or sedated patients. Medical evidence does not support routine operating room management of early pregnancy failure. This commentary reviews historical origins of these different care standards, explores political factors responsible for their perpetuation, and uses experience at University of Michigan to dramatize the ways in which history, politics, and biomedicine intersect to produce patient care. The University of Michigan initiated office uterine evacuations for early pregnancy failure treatment. Patients previously went to the operating room. These changes required faculty, staff, and resident education. Our efforts blurred the lines between spontaneous and induced abortion management, improved patient care and better utilized hospital resources.     

Short-Term Visual Experience Leads to Potentiation of Spontaneous Activity in Mouse Superior Colliculus

Spontaneous activity in the brain maintains an internal structured pattern that reflects the external environment,which is essential for processing information and developing perception and cognition.An essential prerequisite of spontaneous activity for perception is the ability to reverberate external information,such as by potentiation.Yet its role in the processing of potentiation in mouse superior colliculus(SC)neurons is less studied.Here,we used electrophysiological recording,optogenetics,and drug infusion methods to investigate the mechanism of potentiation in SC neurons.We found that visual experience potentiated SC neurons several minutes later in different developmental stages,and the similarity between spontaneous and visually-evoked activity increased with age.Before eye-opening,activation of retinal ganglion cells that expressed ChR2 also induced the potentiation of spontaneous activity in the mouse SC.Potentiation was dependenton stimulus number and showed feature selectivity for direction and orientation.Optogenetic activation of parvalbumin neurons in the SC attenuated the potentiation induced by visual experience.Furthermore,potentiation in SC neurons was blocked by inhibiting the glutamate transporter GLT1.These results indicated that the potentiation induced by a visual stimulus might play a key role in shaping the internal representation of the environment,and serves as a carrier for short-term memory consolidation.     

血清抑制素A在预测孕早期先兆流产孕妇妊娠结局中的应用

目的探讨抑制素A在预测孕早期先兆流产孕妇妊娠结局中的价值。方法选择孕6～13周稽留流产孕妇18例及B超检查示活胎的先兆流产孕妇27例（妊娠继续组17例和难免流产组10例）,同孕龄正常孕妇40例。采用ELISA法测定各组孕妇血清抑制素A水平。结果正常孕妇血清抑制素A在孕早期随孕龄增加而增加,孕10～11周达高峰,孕12～13周逐渐降低。难免流产组血清抑制素A水平明显低于妊娠继续组（P〈0.01）;当抑制素A〈0.3 MoM时可筛查出90%的难免流产,敏感性为90%,特异性为94.1%。结论孕早期血清抑制素A的检测有助于预测先兆流产孕妇不良妊娠结局,当血清抑制素A〈0.3 MoM时对预测难免流产有较高的敏感性和特异性。     

血清超敏C反应蛋白与尿碘水平联合预测先兆流产患者保胎结局的研究

目的观察血清超敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)与尿碘水平联合对先兆流产患者保胎结局的预测效能。方法前瞻性选取海南医学院第二附属医院2018年1月至2020年1月收治的112例先兆流产患者作为研究对象,根据保胎结局将患者分为保胎失败组(n=20)与保胎成功组(n=92)。检测两组入院时各主要指标[甲状腺功能相关指标、血清孕酮(P)、β-人绒毛膜促性腺激素(β-HCG)、hs-CRP、尿碘水平],采用Logistic回归分析各主要指标与先兆流产患者保胎结局的关系,并分析入院时血清hs-CRP、尿碘水平对先兆流产患者保胎结局的预测效能。结果保胎失败组P、β-HCG水平低于保胎成功组,hs-CRP水平高于保胎成功组,合并甲状腺功能异常、尿碘水平异常占比高于保胎成功组(P<0.05)。经Logistic回归分析结果显示,先兆流产患者甲状腺功能异常、hs-CRP表达上调、尿碘水平异常是保胎成功的危险因素(OR>1,P<0.05);先兆流产患者P、β-HCG表达上调是保胎成功的保护因素(OR<1,P<0.05);绘制受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线发现,先兆流产患者hs-CRP...     

Spontaneous Regression of a Metastatic Liver Tumor: Report of a Case

A 60-year-old man, who suffered from advanced rectal cancer accompanied with liver metastasis, underwent an abdominoperineal resection and a partial hepatectomy. He remained well until 4 months after surgery when he developed a biopsy-proven recurrent intrapelvic mass and multiple liver tumors. At 6 months after surgery, the metastatic liver tumors grew larger and almost completely occupied both lobes of the liver. However, 9 months after surgery, the liver tumors regressed remarkably and his clinical condition improved without any specific treatment for cancer. Although he died of cancerous peritonitis 18 months after surgery, the autopsy findings did not indicate any apparent regrowth of the liver tumors. To date, only one case report of a spontaneous regression of a metastatic liver tumor from colorectal cancer has been published in the English literature. We herein describe this rare case and discuss some of the reasons potentially responsible for the regression. Received: July 16, 2001 / Accepted: March 5, 2002