Cervical screening: do gynecologists themselves practice what they preach? a study based in tertiary care hospitals of Lahore

To determine the frequency of self-compliance to cervical screening guidance among the sexually active female gynecologists in tertiary care hospitals. To identify the possible barriers to effective screening in those who do not undergo cervical screening. Cross sectional study. This study was conducted in the obstetrics and Gynecology department of various tertiary care hospitals of Lahore from 1[st] Jun 2012 to 30[th] Nov 2012. Total 157 female gynecologists, serving in various positions in tertiary care hospitals of Lahore were interviewed by using a structured self reporting performa. The performa was designed to find out the number of gynecologists undergoing pap screening, and in those who fail to undergo screening the single most important barrier presumed to be preventing them from undergoing screening was also evaluated. In this study, only 3.1% of the subject population was found to be undergoing pap-screening, which reflects the national level of screening in urban areas,in sharp constrast to the studies being conducted in developed countries, with screening coverage rates of more than 80%. The prevalence of pap screening in the subject population is disappointingly low and drastic steps are needed to bring about a change in attitude of the subject population which cannot be brought about without changing the current culture of self-negligence and least prioritization for self, in the feminine part of our society

Subfertility: the tragedy of military life style

To determine the frequency of subfertility in military couples owing to military deployments and consequent physical separation of couples. Cross-sectional descriptive study. This study was conducted in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at CMH Lahore from Jan 2012 to Jun 2012. Total 232 couples being investigated for subfertility were interviewed for the period of living together at a stretch since their marriage. The couples with established male factor infertility, secondary subfertility, and abdomino-pelvic surgery in female partners were excluded to rule out known pathological conditions as an underlying cause. Data was analyzed using MS excel in the form of frequencies, percentages and presented in the form of tables and figures. In our study 232 couples had subfertility. Out of these 96% of the couples could not spend their first year of marital life together due to non-availability of married accommodation. Nearly 50% of the patients looked for other forms of help including household tips, medicines and spiritual help before seeking medical treatment. In 69% of the couples burden of blame was put on the female partner by the in-laws. The tragedy of subfertility was further compounded by the fact that psychological symptoms were admitted by more than 70% females, 44% confessed being a victim of domestic violence, and 54% husbands refused to have their semen analysis done on first request by clinicians, although after counselling only 13% of the husbands still could not make their semen analysis available either due to military deployments or personal reasons. Incidence of subfertility in military couples is alarmingly high and can be largely attributed to military deployments and lifestyle