Field Testing of Second Generation of Colour-Coded Rings for Detecting Slow Progress of Labour at Rural Health Centres.

INTRODUCTION: An innovative appropriate technological tool of colour-coded rings based on cervicographic principles was developed to monitor deliveries. OBJECTIVES: To study efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of colour-coded rings for monitoring active phase of labour. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All consecutive deliveries occurring at selected primary health centres from Pune, Satara and Kolhapur Districts of Maharashtra, during 15 months period were included in the study and matched control groups. Training of medical officers and nurses from both study and control area was undertaken in routine natal and post-natal care. In addition, training of use of colour-coded rings was given to health workers from the study area. RESULTS: There were 6705 live births from study area and 6341 from control area. Perinatal mortality rate for study area was 15.9/1000 LB while that was 23.9/1000 LB for control area (p < 0.01). The cause-specific perinatal mortality due to birth asphyxia for the study area was 4.2/1000 LB while that was 8.5/1000 LB for control area (p = 0.0019). CONCLUSION: Higher use rate of colour-coded rings associated with reduction in cause-specific mortality rate due to birth asphyxia in study area indicated that use of colour-coded rings is effective, feasible and acceptable option to cervicography under field conditions.

Feasibility of voluntary counselling and testing services for HIV among pregnant women presenting in labour in Pune, India.

Factors affecting the eligibility and acceptability of voluntary counselling and rapid HIV testing (VCT) were examined among pregnant women presenting in labour in Pune, India. Of the 6702 total women appearing at the delivery room from April 2001 to March 2002, 4638 (69%) were admitted for normal delivery. The remaining women presented with obstetrical complications, delivered immediately or were detected to be in false labour. Overall, 2818 (61%) of the admitted women had been previously tested for HIV during their pregnancy. If previously seen in the hospital's affiliated antenatal clinic, the likelihood of being previously tested was 89%, in contrast to 27% of women having prenatal care elsewhere. Of the admitted women, 3436 (74.3%) were assessed for their eligibility for rapid HIV VCT in the delivery room. Only 1322 (38%) of these women were found to be in early labour and without severe pain or complications, and therefore eligible for rapid HIV screening in the delivery room (DR). Of those 1322 eligible women, only 582 (44%) consented and were tested for HIV, of whom nine (1.6%) were found to be HIV-infected. Of the 1674 women arriving in the DR with no evidence of previous HIV testing, through this DR screening programme, we identified four women with HIV who could now benefit from treatment with ART. Given the high rates of HIV testing in the antenatal clinic at this site and the challenges inherent to conducting DR screening, alternatives such as post-partum testing should be considered to help reduce maternal to infant transmission in this population.

Optimizing the HIV/AIDS informed consent process in India.

BACKGROUND: While the basic ethical issues regarding consent may be universal to all countries, the consent procedures required by international review boards which include detailed scientific and legal information, may not be optimal when administered within certain populations. The time and the technicalities of the process itself intimidate individuals in societies where literacy and awareness about medical and legal rights is low. METHODS: In this study, we examined pregnant women's understanding of group education and counseling (GEC) about HIV/AIDS provided within an antenatal clinic in Maharashtra, India. We then enhanced the GEC process with the use of culturally appropriate visual aids and assessed the subsequent changes in women's understanding of informed consent issues. RESULTS: We found the use of visual aids during group counseling sessions increased women's overall understanding of key issues regarding informed consent from 38% to 72%. Moreover, if these same visuals were reinforced during individual counseling, improvements in women's overall comprehension rose to 96%. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that complex constructs such as informed consent can be conveyed in populations with little education and within busy government hospital settings, and that the standard model may not be sufficient to ensure true informed consent.

Awareness of HIV/AIDS and household environment of pregnant women in Pune, India.

Our objective was to determine the level of HIV/AIDS knowledge of pregnant women in India. In a sub-sample of these women, we documented the extent to which they experienced adverse social and physical difficulties within their home. The study was performed at an urban antenatal hospital clinic in Maharastra, India. From April to September 2001, structured interviews were conducted on 707 randomly selected antenatal clinic patients related to HIV/AIDS knowledge. Of these, 283 were further interviewed to document any social or physical difficulties they experienced. Over 75% of women displayed knowledge of primary transmission routes. Nearly 70% of women demonstrated knowledge of maternal to child transmission, however, only 8% knew of any methods of prevention. TV and written material were more strongly related to knowledge than access to radio messages or conversations with individuals. Thirty per cent of the women experienced physical or mental abuse or their spouse's alcohol and/or drug problems. Women reporting such abuse were more than twice as likely to have adequate HIV/AIDS knowledge compared with women reporting no such abuse. We found no relationship between reported household abuse and educational level of woman, husband, occupation of either partner, language or religion. We found no relationship between HIV status and knowledge of HIV and no relationship between HIV status and risk of abuse in the household. However, the total number of HIV patients in our sample was very small.

A pilot study on CD4 & CD8 cell counts in healthy HIV seronegative pregnant women.

CD4 and CD8 counts are widely used prognostic markers to assess the degree of immune impairment in HIV seropositive individuals and to monitor anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Pregnancy is considered as a physiologically immunocompromised state, hence alterations in T lymphocyte subsets may occur during pregnancy. There is a need to establish base-line values of these counts, especially in healthy pregnant women. One hundred healthy HIV seronegative pregnant women (mean age 22.5 +/- 2.99 yr) in their third trimester of pregnancy and 30 non-pregnant women (mean age 22.7 +/- 3.01 yr) were tested for their CD4 and CDS counts. In pregnant women, the CD4 and CD8 cell counts/microl were 764 +/- 249 and 547 +/- 196 and the CD4 and CD8 per cent were 56.49 +/- 8.3 and 38.03 +/- 7.2 respectively. In the non-pregnant women CD4 and CD8 counts/microl were 965 +/- 267 and 639 +/- 211 whereas the CD4 and CD8 per cent were 55.27 +/- 5.99 and 36.17 +/- 6.44 respectively. Absolute counts were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the pregnant group as compared to the controls. A wide variation was seen in the CD4 and CD8 counts in both the groups. However, the variations in the mean CD4 and CD8 per cent were much smaller. Thus CD4 and CD8 per cent may be considered as a useful indicator of immune function rather than absolute counts, in pregnant women.

Women's acceptability and husband's support of rapid HIV testing of pregnant women in India.

This study examined acceptability among pregnant women and their husbands for HIV testing within the antenatal clinic (ANC) and delivery room (DR) of a government hospital in Pune, India from September 2000 to November 2001. Acceptance of HIV counselling and testing was high with 83% of eligible women in the antenatal clinic (851 of 1025) and 68% of eligible women in the delivery room (417 of 613) getting tested on the same day. Structured interviews were conducted on 94 pregnant women in the ANC 50 women in the DR, and 100 husbands who accompanied their wives in the ANC. These data indicated that the majority of women agreed to be tested independently without the need for further consultation with family members, a view that was strongly supported in this sub-sample of accompanying husbands. For delivering women who were not progressing in their labour, counselling in the DR allowed for individual attention to questions and concerns thereby making counselling in the DR feasible.

Sensitivity and specificity of rapid HIV testing of pregnant women in India.

OBJECTIVE: Efforts to prevent HIV transmission from mother to infants in settings like India may benefit from the availability of reliable methods for rapid and simple HIV screening. Data from India on the reliability of rapid HIV test kits are limited and there are no data on the use of rapid HIV tests for screening of pregnant women. METHODS: Pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic and delivery room in Pune agreed to participate in an evaluation of five rapid HIV tests, including (a) a saliva brush test (Oraquick HIV-1/2, Orasure Technologies Inc.), (b) a rapid plasma test (Oraquick HIV-1/2) and (c) three rapid finger prick tests (Oraquick HIV-1/2; HIV-1/2 Determine, Abbott; NEVA HIV-1/2 Cadila). Results of the rapid tests were compared with three commercial plasma enzyme immunoassay (EIA) tests (Innotest HIV AB EIA, Lab systems/ELISCAN HIV AB EIA, UBI HIV Ab EIA). RESULTS: Between September 2000 and October 1, 2001, 1258 pregnant women were screened for HIV using these rapid tests. Forty-four (3.49%) of the specimens were HIV-antibody-positive by at least two plasma EIA tests. All of the rapid HIV tests demonstrated excellent specificity (96-100%). The sensitivity of the rapid tests ranged from 75-94%. The combined sensitivity and specificity of a two-step algorithm for rapid HIV testing was excellent for a number of combinations of the five rapid finger stick tests. CONCLUSION: In this relatively low HIV prevalence population of pregnant women in India, the sensitivity of the rapid HIV tests varied, when compared to a dual EIA algorithm. In general, the specificity of all the rapid tests was excellent, with very few false positive HIV tests. Based upon these data, two different rapid HIV tests for screening pregnant women in India would be highly sensitive, with excellent specificity to reliably prevent inappropriate use of antiretroviral therapy for prevention of vertical HIV transmission.

Admission test: a predictive test for fetal distress in high risk labour.

OBJECTIVE: To study predictive utility of admission test (AT) for perinatal outcome in high risk labours. METHOD: A hundred patients at risk of fetal jeopardy due to uteroplacental insufficiency were screened by admission test. The traces were classified as per the criteria suggested by Ingemarsson and Arulkumaran (1986). The perinatal outcome was correlated with the initial FHR pattern and Chi square test was applied to the results. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients had reactive, 35 had equivocal and 7 had ominous tracing. The incidence of operative delivery for fetal distress showed a progressive rise from reactive (5.17%) to ominous (28.5%) pattern group. The perinatal morbidity also showed a rise from 6.89% in the reactive to 31.42% in the equivocal (p < 0.01) and 85.71% in the ominous group (p < 0.02). The reactive pattern was assuring of the fetal well being for next 5 hours. Presence of late decelerations and decelerations of 60 beats or more below the baseline were additional ominous characteristics, associated with a significant increase in perinatal morbidity. CONCLUSION: Reactive AT appears to be predictive of fetal well being in high risk labours also. Repeat tracing 4 to 5 hours apart may improve the predictive accuracy. Equivocal and ominous patterns require vigilant monitoring.

Risk of teen-age pregnancy in a rural community of India.

PIP: In India, there has been a declining trend in teenage pregnancy between 1977-79 and 1981-84. Teenage pregnancy tends to occur within marriages, often arranged by parents, and few pregnancies occur among unmarried teenagers. There are nevertheless concerns about the higher rates of nutritional and obstetric problems associated with adolescent pregnancy and the ignorance and immaturity which can result in higher morbidity and mortality among mothers and babies. The change to a minimum age of 18 years for marriage has been suggested as a means of reducing the number of adolescent pregnancies. The study sample included 5994 deliveries in the rural health district area of Sirur, Maharashtra state, India, between 1981 and 1984. Adolescent pregnancies (to women under 20 years old) amounted to 598 deliveries, or 10% of deliveries. The perinatal mortality rate among teenage first births to high-risk mothers (238) under 18 years old was 67.2 per 100 births; the neonatal mortality rate was 61.4. Risk factors such as prolonged labor, short stature, and anemia were associated more with women under 18 years old. Statistically significant differences were found in the rate of low birth weight infants, stillbirths, and late neonatal deaths among women aged under 18 years compared to other women. The perinatal mortality rate was 7-16 times greater when associated risk factors, except anemia, were present. The neonatal mortality rate was 2.5-18 times greater when associated risk factors, except anemia and edema, were present. Late neonatal mortality was 2.2 times higher among infants with mothers under 18 years old. Recommendations were to provide general health education about risks of teenage pregnancy, strictly enforce the minimum age at marriage law, screen all pregnant mothers for risk factors, and provide at-risk mothers with education about child bearing and rearing and referral to a hospital for safe delivery. Referrals are particularly important among first pregnancies among women under 18 years old with multiple risk factors.^ieng

Maternal mortality in Sirur.

PIP: The research aim was 1) to determine the incidence of maternal mortality in a rural health center area in Sirur, Maharashtra state, India; 2) to determine the relative risk; and 3) to make suggestions about reducing maternal mortality. The data on deliveries was obtained between 1981 and 1984. Medical care at the Rural Training Center was supervised by the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, the B.J. Medical College in Pune. Deliveries numbered 5994 singleton births over the four years; 5919 births were live births. 15 mothers died: 14 after delivery and 1 predelivery. The maternal mortality rate was 2.5/1000 live births. The maternal causes of death included 9 direct obstetric causes, 3 from postpartum hemorrhage of anemic women, and 3 from puerperal sepsis of anemic women with prolonged labor. 2 deaths were due to eclampsia, and 1 death was unexplained. There were 5 (33.3%) maternal deaths due to indirect causes (3 from hepatitis and 2 from thrombosis). One woman died of undetermined causes. Maternal jaundice during pregnancy was associated with the highest relative risk of maternal death: 106.4. Other relative risk factors were edema, anemia, and prolonged labor. Attributable risk was highest for anemia, followed by jaundice, edema, and maternal age of over 30 years. Maternal mortality at 30 years and older was 3.9/1000 live births. Teenage maternal mortality was 3.3/1000. Maternal mortality among women 20-29 years old was lowest at 2.1/1000. Maternal mortality for women with a parity of 5 or higher was 3.6/1000. Prima gravida women had a maternal mortality rate of 2.9/1000. Parities between 1 and 4 had a maternal mortality rate of 2.3/1000. The lowest maternal mortality was at parity of 3. Only 1 woman who died had received more than 3 prenatal visits. 11 out of 13 women medically examined prenatally were identified with the following risk factors: jaundice, edema, anemia, young or old maternal age, parity, or poor obstetric history. The local hospital death rate was 5.7/1000 and the district referral hospital death rate was 13.9/1000. The home delivery death rate was 1.2/1000. 5 (33.3%) who died had preterm deliveries. 5 infants died perinatally, 5 died neonatally, and 1 died postneonatally. Infant mortality was 6 times greater among mothers who died.^ieng

Infant mortality in rural India: a strategy for reduction.

PIP: A risk-approach-strategy project sponsored by WHO was undertaken in 22 villages of Surur, Pune, by BJ Medical College. All births in the study population of 47,000 were followed, comparing the 3 cohorts born between January 1981 to December 1983. Female village health guides were trained in screening for 11 maternal risk factors, infant risk factors, infant monitoring, and basic health support such as maternal nutrition, rest, breastfeeding and home cleaning, heating, humidifying and infant isolation. There were 123, 97 and 87 infant deaths in the 1981, 1982, and 1983 cohorts, giving infant mortality rats of 91.2, 72.3 and 67.3 respectively. The proportion of neonatal deaths remained at 61 to 62.1% over the period. The most common risk factors seen were illness, low birth weight and growth retardation, often associated with illness. Incidence of low birth weight and prolonged labor both decreased significantly over the duration of the program. Mortality was high among infants with feeding problems and prematurity. 40% of deaths were due to infections, 28% to low birth weight and prematurity, and 9% to birth asphyxia. The lower infant mortality rate achieved here is comparable to urban levels reported in India. These results show that primary health workers are capable of referring and managing risks, and risk management could be applied on a larger scale.^ieng

Risk-approach strategy in neonatal care.

PIP: This study applied a risk-approach strategy involving extra care to at-risk neonates by optimum utilization of existing resources to a cohort of newborns in rural India. Included in the analysis were all births in the study population of 47,000 people in 22 villages in 1981-82. 5 risk factors were identified (low birth weight and small size, preterm birth, feeding problem, illness, and history of prolonged and difficult labor). A management plan was developed for individual risks, and 40 community health workers were trained to implement these plans. During the 2-year study period, 851 newborns (28%) were designated as at-risk and adequate intervention was possible in 412 cases (48%). Neonatal mortality declined from 51.9 to 38.8/1000 live births between 1981 and 1982. The neonatal mortality rate was significantly higher among the infants designated as at-risk and increased with the number of risk factors present simultaneously. Neonatal mortality was highest among infants with feeding problems (439.2/1000) and illness (471.4/1000). 42% of neonatal deaths were related to low birth weight and associated complications; another 20% resulted from neonatal infections and 18% from asphyxia at birth. The neonatal mortality rate for the adequately intervened group (89.8/1000) was significantly lower than that for the group with inadequate intervention (200.5/1000). 92% of neonatal deaths occurred in 28% of the newborns who formed the at-risk groups. It is concluded that this strategy is effective and could be applied in rural areas with similar problems. Continued training of community health workers, greater cooperation with families through health education, and meetings with local leaders and traditional birth attendants are recommended to facilitate identification of at-risk neonates.^ieng