Prevalence of retinitis pigmentosa in Slovenia.

Two hundred and twenty-nine symptomatic patients with retinitis pigmentosa were ascertained in Slovenia between 1986 and 1990. Twenty-three further patients were identified while data from 63 families (82 patients) were being collected. After correction for underascertainment, a prevalence of 1 in 6023 was estimated in the Slovene population (1,999,477 in 1990). The highest prevalence of 1 in 1902 was found in the age group 65 years and older. Of 63 analysed families, 17 (27%) showed autosomal dominant, 13 (21%) autosomal recessive, and one family (1.5%) X-linked inheritance; in 30 families (47.5%) isolated cases were found; and in two families the mode of inheritance was impossible to determine.

Do women want a once-a-month pill?

The attitudes of women of reproductive age in Scotland, Romania and Slovenia to the idea of a contraceptive pill which is taken only once each month or only when menses are delayed was investigated. In all three centres, the great majority of women felt positive towards the idea of a once-a-month pill which inhibited ovulation and greater than 50% found a pill which inhibited or interfered with implantation an acceptable idea. Only 24% of women in Scotland were attracted to the idea of a pill which was taken only if menstruation was delayed by 1 or 2 days, that is a pill which would cause an abortion, while in contrast 58% of women in Slovenia and 80% in Romania thought that such a method of controlling fertility would be acceptable. Attitudes were not related to age, social class or marital status but were influenced by religious belief and in Scotland by a history of abortion. In countries where the availability of contraception is limited and abortion is common, women would seem to welcome another method of fertility regulation--even one which disrupts the very early stages of pregnancy.

PIP: In 1990-91, 400 women attending clinics at the Family Planning Centre Dean Terrace, Edinburgh, Scotland; 400 women attending a gynecology clinic in Tirgu-Mures, Romania; and 100 women attending a family planning clinic in Ljubljana, Slovenia, completed a questionnaire as part of a study to determine attitudes about taking a once-a-month contraceptive (OC) or using an OC to induce menstruation (missed-period OC). The highest abortion rate was in Ljubljana (55%)even though the rate in Romania was more than 2 times as high as the rate in Yugoslavia. Ljubljana had the most Roman Catholics (54%), but the lowest percentage espousing strong religious beliefs (2%). Women with weak religious beliefs were more positive about a once-a-month OC than those with strong religious beliefs in Scotland and Romania (p .005). This same relationship existed about the missed-period OC among only Scottish women. Most women in all 3 centers liked the idea of a once-a-month OC (71.8% in Edinburgh, 81.3% in Tirgu-Mures, and 94% in Ljubljana). Women in Edinburgh were less likely to accept a missed-period OC than women from the other centers (24.2% vs. 80% and 58%, respectively). The women from all 3 centers found ovulation inhibition to be the most acceptable mode of action (77.3-90.4% vs. 54.2-68% for prevention of implantation and 15.7-33.4% for implantation suppression). Overall, most women found any method which acts after implantation unacceptable. Scottish women who did not use an IUD or postcoital emergency contraception in the past tended to have a negative attitude about a once-a-month OC (p .01) and a missed-period OC (p .001). Women who had a induced abortion tended to have a positive attitude about a missed-period OC (p .01 in Edinburgh and p .05 in Ljubljana). Abortion history did not influence attitudes towards either OC in Romania. Childless women in Edinburgh were more likely to be positive about the once-a-month OC than women with children (p .05).

Incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis in the Republic of Slovenia.

Over a 12-month period, 3959 pregnant women were systematically tested with the Sabin-Feldman dye test in order to assess the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis in Slovenia. The results suggest that this is approximately 3/1000 live births. This relatively high incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis in Slovenia may make the costing of preventive screening programmes justifiable.

[Characteristics of patients with laparoscopically verified pelvic inflammation]. / Obiljezja bolesnica s laparoskopski utvrdenom pelvicnom upalom.

Comparing the characteristics of the two groups young women: one with laparoscopically confirmed pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and the other with no PID (control group) but corresponding to the first group by age, marital status and number of pregnancies, it has been found that the patients with PID are below 25 years of age, have a lower degree of education (p less than 0.05), and 25.5% of them do not use any contraceptive method (p less than 0.01). It has also been observed that in their gynecologic history they mention an episode of lower abdominal pain (p less than 0.01). A further comparison of this finding with laparoscopically confirmed adnexal changes has shown that in 50% of the study group patients there exist sequelae of an earlier PID episode (asymptomatic salpingitis). The results obtained point to the need for carefully connecting the characteristics of the population regarding the risk of PID and the minimal clinical symptoms in diagnosing PID.

[Comparison of prostaglandin E2 and oxytocin infusions for induction of labor in primiparas at term with an unripe cervix and premature rupture of fetal membranes]. / Usporedba prostaglandina E2 i oksitocina u infuziji za indukciju porodaja u prvorotkinja u terminu sa nezrelim cerviksom i preranim prsnucem vodenjaka.

The study aimed at examining the effectiveness of labor induction in term pregnant nulliparas with the premature rupture of the membranes (PRM) and unriped cervix (Bishop less than 6). Each group contained 17 nulliparas. In the first group the labor was induced with the prostaglandin E2 (PgE2) infusion, in the second group the oxytocin infusion was used. The results of both groups were compared. PgE2 was found to be effective in labor induction; the rate of caesarean sections was 18.75% in the first group and 29.41% in the second group. The PgE2 drug was found to be safe for the fetus and also well tolerated by pregnant women. The effect of the drug on the ripening of the cervix has not been noticed. The time interval from the induction of labor to the delivery is equal in both groups. However, in the first group significantly less work was done by the uterus at the same interval. No incidence of uterine hyperactivity was recorded. All newborns in the first group were in good condition: in the second group two cases of fetal distress were recorded. The pregnancy outcome shows that the PgE2 drug is superior to oxytocin for labor induction in term pregnant nulliparas with the PRM and unriped cervix.

Laparoscopic treatment of acute adnexitis; one step forward.

Supplementary laparoscopic method accompanying antibiotic treatment in 8 patients with acute PID (ALT Group) was compared to the group of 28 patients with acute PID, diagnosed laparoscopically and treated medically (MLT Group). Rapid subjective improvement of general status in which main symptoms of acute PID disappeared, the absence of early PID complications (p less than 0.01), shorter hospital treatment (p less than 0.05) and the absence of recurrence (p less than 0.01) in the first 6 months are the major advantages of the supplementary laparoscopic treatment of acute adnexitis found in preliminary results of the present study. It seems that supplementary laparoscopic procedures might be more efficient than medical treatment alone.

[Role of team work in preventing the birth of abnormal children]. / Uloga timskog rada u sprecavanju rodenja nenormalne djece.

In diagnosing and preventing the birth of abnormal children the authors stress the necessity of team work of different specialists and their centralisation at the University complex or hospitals. The results of such a team work organised at the Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Ljubljana and their experience in detecting some of monogenic, chromosome, and etiologically unknown disorders are presented, as well as the results of the follow-up of certain cases. The value of team work in genetic counselling is also pointed out.