Ambivalence toward undergoing invasive prenatal testing: an exploration of its origins.

OBJECTIVE: This study explores ambivalence toward undergoing amniocentesis among pregnant women with overall positive attitudes. Its novelty lies in the characterization of the type and origins of the ambivalence. METHOD: Thirty-six women between 35 and 44 years of age were recruited from a US prenatal testing center to participate in structured telephone interviews. RESULTS: Thirty women chose to undergo testing. Attitudes toward undergoing amniocentesis were generally positive, although all participants simultaneously described feeling ambivalent. The women desired the information that amniocentesis could provide yet did not want to place their fetus at risk. Participants cited religious, moral, ethical and intellectual values important in shaping their attitudes toward undergoing amniocentesis. Important referents such as partners, other pregnant women, family members and physicians influenced their decisions. CONCLUSION: Tensions were evident among the intellectual, moral and spiritual values that contribute to ambivalence toward undergoing amniocentesis. Illuminating and discussing such tensions during the genetic counseling sessions prior to testing may resolve some of this ambivalence and thereby increase the quality of decisions women make.

Childhood delayed septic arthritis of the knee caused by Serratia fonticola.

We report a first documented case of Serratia fonticola infection in a child with septic arthritis, after falling off his bicycle and an infection with hawthorn thorns. The aetiologic agent was found to be a S. fonticola strain which was first isolated from two synovial fluid samples, only after culture enrichment, with failure of DNA amplification. Accurate diagnostic was done, despite S. fonticola is often considered as an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium. Alone ciprofloxacin treatment was not sufficient to counteract the infection, which was eradicated only after surgical drainage performed twice successively, with secondary removal of a remaining thorn, and treatment with third generation cephalosporin combined with ciprofloxacin for another three months.