ABSTRACT
Background: Emergency contraception (EC) is a safe and cost effective measure, which when used judiciously can avoid unintended pregnancies. This is especially relevant in our country where both population control and unsafe abortions are a serious concern. For any contraceptive to be effective, the general population must have a proper knowledge and a positive attitude towards it. Women who come for medical termination of unwanted pregnancy are the best representatives of this and our study aimed to assess the knowledge and awareness of EC in this group.Methods: It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted using a predesigned questionnaire among 100 women who came for medical termination of pregnancy at G. B. Pant Hospital, Port Blair. Questions were asked to evaluate their awareness, knowledge and attitude towards EC.Results: Out of 100 women, only 26 % had heard about EC, mostly from mass media, and seven of these 26 women had correct knowledge of timing of using EC. Four women had used EC before, whereas among others, fear of menstrual irregularity was the major deterrent. A significant association was found between education level and occupation with knowledge of EC.Conclusions: Although EC is a potent tool to avoid unwanted pregnancies, ignorance and misconceptions regarding EC is unfortunately still prevalent among those who would benefit the most from it. Medical personnel and health workers should be more proactive to propagate benefits of EC and encourage its use, as they are usually the first point of contact to the target population.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To compare the effects of conventional hormonal therapy (HT) and tibolone on tear composition and tear function. Material and methods: Prospective randomized study in 60 postmenopausal women who received conventional HT versus tibolone for postmenopausal symptoms. Response assessed on Kupperman index, eye symptoms and qualitative and quantitative tests for tears at six months follow-up. Quantitative data analyzed using Student’s t-test, ANOVA test, Fisher’s exact test and qualitative data by using McNemar-Bowker test with Bonferroni correlation and Kappa test. Results: There was a significant improvement in the mean Kupperman scores with conventional HT and tibolone (p < 0.01). Tibolone effectively reduced foreign body sensation but there was no appreciable change in other eye symptoms with both therapies. P value did not show any significant change in quantitative tests (Schirmer’s I and II) and qualitative tests (break-up time) for tear secretion. Tear immunoglobulin A level was significantly elevated with both therapies. Conclusion: Conventional HT or tibolone did not have any significant beneficial effect on tear composition and tear function. A larger study can be undertaken using systemic or topical estrogen or androgen containing preparation for further evaluation for dry eye symptoms.
ABSTRACT
Genital tuberculosis is an important under-diagnosed factor of infertility. A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic and diagnosing them will help in treating such patients. We conducted a retrospective study in a tertiary care hospital of Delhi with an aim to compare different methods i.e., histopathological examination (HPE), acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smears, Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) culture, BACTEC culture and polymerase chain reaction deoxyribonucleic acid (PCR-DNA) for diagnosing endometrial tuberculosis in infertile women. The data from 546 samples of endometrial biopsy histopathology, AFB smears and LJ culture was collected and then analyzed. Of these, HPE for tuberculosis was positive in 13, LJ culture in 10, AFB smear was positive in one case. BACTEC and PCR-DNA were feasible for 90 patients and PCR-DNA was positive in 20 and BACTEC in eight patients. Out of 20 patients with PCR positive results, 15 were only PCR positive and were subjected to hyster-laparoscopy and fi ve had evidence of tuberculosis. Thus, none of the available tests can pick up all cases of genital tuberculosis, but conventional methods i.e., histopathology and LJ culture still has an important role in the diagnosis of endometrial tuberculosis in government setups where BACTEC and PCR are not performed routinely due to lack of resources.