Comparison of pregnancy outcomes of triangular 3-bites and mcdonald techniques of cervical cerclage in women with cervical insufficiency: A pilot study.

Background: Cervical cerclage is the procedure of choice for preventing preterm birth due to cervical insufficiency. Despite the simplicity of the McDonald's method of cerclage application, it is still technically difficult to take four bites around the cervix before knotting. There is a need to develop a simpler method of cervical cerclage application with similar or improved pregnancy outcomes. Aim: This is to compare the ease/duration of application and pregnancy outcomes of the new triangular three-bite cervical cerclage technique and McDonald's technique in women with cervical insufficiency. Patients and Methods: This is a pilot study with 20 participants that met the inclusion criteria. They were randomly grouped into triangular three-bite method (n = 10) and McDonald's method (n = 10). The pregnancy outcomes were compared between the groups with the Chi-square test and student's t-test. A P value of <.05 was set as level of significance. Results: The sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups were similar. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the pregnancy outcome (spontaneous miscarriage P = 1.00, preterm delivery P = 0.61, and neonatal birthweight P = 0.96). However, the duration of cerclage application (5.98 ± 1.79 minutes vs. 14.25 ± 7.5 minutes; P <.002) and estimated blood loss (29 ± 9.94 mls vs. 48.5 ± 25.82 mls; P = .04) were significantly lower in the triangular three-bite arm than in the McDonald's arm. Conclusion: The new triangular three-bite technique has similar pregnancy outcomes with the conventional McDonald's technique and has shown a lower duration of procedure and blood loss. Since this is a pilot study, a well-structured randomized control trial to compare the two methods is recommended.

Evolving pattern of spinal anaesthesia in stable eclamptic patients undergoing caesarean section at University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Eclampsia is still associated with high maternal and perinatal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, especially in resource poor countries with limited access to perinatal and critical care facilities. The ideal method of anaesthesia for caesarean section in eclamptics is not generally agreed upon. METHODS: Review of the patients' case notes as well as records of the institution's Labour Ward Theatre, Intensive Care Unit and Postnatal Ward was carried out between January 2011 and December 2012. Patients' clinical and demographic data, anaesthetic management methods, maternal and perinatal outcome measures were evaluated and analysed. RESULTS: Ninety-nine cases of eclampsia were reviewed, of which 87 had Caesarean section. After excluding five patients who had intercurrent medical ailments, 82 patients were finally analyzed. Of these, 65 (79.3%) had spinal anaesthesia while 17 (20.7%) had general anaesthesia. Out of the 19 (23.2%) who were transferred to the intensive care unit, 12 (70.6%) had general anaesthesia while 7 (10.8%) had spinal anaesthesia. Of the 17 patients who had general anaesthesia, 10 (58.8%) were ventilated post operatively versus only 2 (3.1%) in spinal anaesthesia. Nine of the 17 general anaesthesia patients (52.9%) versus only 1 of 65 spinal anaesthesia (1.5%) died in ICU. Apgar was two fold better in the spinal anaesthesia group at 5 minutes.There was a higher risk ratio for stillbirths in the general anaesthesia patients. CONCLUSION: maternal and perinatal survival and well being are better in eclamptics who had spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section compared to those who had general anaesthesia.