Methods of hysterectomy: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the most appropriate surgical method of hysterectomy (abdominal, vaginal, or laparoscopic) for women with benign disease. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group Trials Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase, and Biological Abstracts. SELECTION OF STUDIES: Only randomised controlled trials were selected; participants had to have benign gynaecological disease; interventions had to comprise at least one hysterectomy method compared with another; and trials had to report primary outcomes (time taken to return to normal activities, intraoperative visceral injury, and major long term complications) or secondary outcomes (operating time, other immediate complications of surgery, short term complications, and duration of hospital stay). RESULTS: 27 trials (total of 3643 participants) were included. Return to normal activities was quicker after vaginal than after abdominal hysterectomy (weighted mean difference 9.5 (95% confidence interval 6.4 to 12.6) days) and after laparoscopic than after abdominal hysterectomy (difference 13.6 (11.8 to 15.4) days), but was not significantly different for laparoscopic versus vaginal hysterectomy (difference -1.1 (-4.2 to 2.1) days). There were more urinary tract injuries with laparoscopic than with abdominal hysterectomy (odds ratio 2.61 (95% confidence interval 1.22 to 5.60)), but no other intraoperative visceral injuries showed a significant difference between surgical approaches. Data were notably absent for many important long term patient outcome measures, where the analyses were underpowered to detect important differences, or they were simply not reported in trials. CONCLUSIONS: Significantly speedier return to normal activities and other improved secondary outcomes (shorter duration of hospital stay and fewer unspecified infections or febrile episodes) suggest that vaginal hysterectomy is preferable to abdominal hysterectomy where possible. Where vaginal hysterectomy is not possible, laparoscopic hysterectomy is preferable to abdominal hysterectomy, although it brings a higher chance of bladder or ureter injury.

Antenatal antecedents of moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy in term infants--a regional review.

BACKGROUND: Regional audits of term infants with neonatal encephalopathy (NE) provide an opportunity to examine issues related to causation and quality of care. AIM: To document antenatal and intrapartum antecedents in a contemporary cohort of term infants with moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy. METHODS: Term infants admitted with moderate-severe neonatal encephalopathy over 4 years were identified. The clinical records were reviewed for information about the pregnancy and birth including interpretation of monitoring and subsequent management of the labour and delivery. RESULTS: Fifty-two maternal records were reviewed. No mothers were diabetic or had gestations > 42 weeks, but 17% of the babies were small for gestational age (SGA). The cohort had evidence of antenatal hypoxia in 15%, a sentinel event in 25% and suboptimal fetal monitoring practice in at least 42% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Peripartum events were the major contributors to neurological damage in infants with neonatal encephalopathy. Suboptimal fetal monitoring practice and sentinel events remain the most common contributors. Ongoing education and training to address these issues should be available to all involved with intrapartum care in New Zealand.