Vol 13, No 2 (June 2019)

Review Articles

  • XML | PDF | downloads: 223 | views: 574 | pages: 56-69

    Objective: Preeclampsia (PE) is a multi-systemic complication of pregnancy often characterised with the
    onset of hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. Today, PE is the leading cause of
    maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. An early detection of PE would allow a chance
    to plan the appropriate monitoring and for clinical management to be immediately done following early
    detection thus making prophylactic strategies much more effective.
    Materials and methods: This systematic review aims to evaluate the potential of the various serum
    biomarkers and diagnostic modalities (uterine artery Doppler, MAP, and maternal history) available for
    early prediction of PE with articles included and obtained through MEDLINE Full Text, Pubmed, Science
    Direct, ProQuest, SAGE, Taylor and Francis Online, Google Scholar, HighWire and Elsevier ClinicalKey.
    Results: Ninety-five articles were found that fulfilled all of our inclusion criteria. Placental growth factor
    (PlGF), pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (sFLT) and
    placental protein 13 (PP-13) were the most commonly studied biomarkers. Whereas uterine Doppler
    scanning and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) were the most commonly studied out of other modalities.
    Conclusion: Current evidence shows serum biomarkers such as PIGF, PP-13 and sFlt yielded the best
    results for a single biomarker with others having conflicting results. However, a combination model with
    other diagnostic modalities performed better than a single biomarker. In the future, new techniques will
    hopefully provide sets of multiple markers, which will lead to a screening program with clinically relevant
    performance. However further studies are required to improve current methods.

Original Articles

  • XML | PDF | downloads: 204 | views: 441 | pages: 70-79

    Objective: Malathion is the most organophosphates which capable to produce free radicals and induce disturbance on some of male reproductive parameter. Resveratrol is an herbal polyphenol and it has been beneficial antioxidant effects during short-term administration. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of Resveratrol against damage induced by Malathion to the reproductive parameter of male rats.
    Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 48 male rats were randomly assigned to 8 groups: normal control (saline) and Malathion control (250 mg/kg) groups; Resveratrol groups (2, 8, 20 mg/kg) and Malathion + Resveratrol (2, 8, 20 mg/kg). Treatments were administered intraperitoneally and gavage daily for 65 days. The sperm parameters, testis malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), testosterone level and germinal layer height were evaluated and statistically analyzed.
    Results: The results displayed that the values of all parameters except MDA level (which increased) reduced significantly in the Malathion control group compared to the normal control group (p < 0.001). The Resveratrol and Resveratrol + Malathion treatments at all doses increased significantly all parameters except MDA level (which decreased) compared to the Malathion control group (p < 0.001). No significant modifications were observed in all Resveratrol groups compared to the normal control group (p > 0.05).
    Conclusion: Resveratrol attenuates toxic effect of Malathion on some of male reproductive parameters.

  • XML | PDF | downloads: 204 | views: 495 | pages: 80-84

    Objective: To assess the effectiveness of extra-curricular activities in improving reproductive health knowledge of ethnic minority students in mountainous areas in Vietnam.
    Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 400 ethnic minority students at Dien Bien Dong Ethnic Minority High School in Vietnam. The selected healthy students with a similar mix of study results and grades were divided into two groups: a control group had no the extra-curricular activities on reproductive health, and an experimental group participated extra-curricular activities on reproductive health. The extra-curricular activities were designed as a series of seminars on numerous reproductive health contents. The retention of reproductive health knowledge was then evaluated by a test containing multiple-choice and single-choice questions.
    Results: Results showed that the percentage of students who did not correctly understand puberty signs, ovulation time during menstrual cycle, contraceptive method use and sexually transmitted diseases in the control group ranged from 34.5% - 83.5%. Despite the fact that the ethnic minority high school students’ knowledge of reproductive health was poor, the percentage of students who fully understood puberty signs, ovulation time during menstrual cycle, contraceptive method use and sexually transmitted diseases significantly increased and reached at least 90% after attending extra-curricular activities on reproductive health (p < 0.05).
    Conclusion: The ethnic minority high school students’ knowledge of reproductive health was relatively poor. Extra-curricular activities markedly increased the knowledge of many reproductive health aspects. These findings suggest that it is necessary to improve the knowledge of reproductive health for ethnic minority high school students in mountainous areas in Vietnam, and that extra-curricular activities organized as seminars are effective and suitable to provide and retain students’ knowledge of reproductive health.

  • XML | PDF | downloads: 181 | views: 398 | pages: 85-88

    Objective: To examine the timing of endometrial scratch in a patient’s menstrual cycle and whether there is an association with subsequent implantation.
    Materials and methods: This study is a retrospective chart review on women, aged 18-45, seen in a reproductive endocrine clinic seeking conception. Timing of endometrial scratch was defined as proliferative (cycle day 1-9), periovulatory (CD11-16), or secretory (CD19+). All periovulatory biopsies were performed at time of oocyte retrieval in women freezing all oocytes/embryos for future use. Primary outcome of interest was positive beta-hCG within ninety days of the endometrial scratch.
    Results: Sixty-nine cases of endometrial scratch met the inclusion criteria. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline demographic characteristics between those who received endometrial injury in the three phases. There was no significant difference in frequency of positive beta-hCG within 90 days of endometrial scratch between the patients who received an endometrial scratch in the three phases (proliferative 65.6%, periovulatory 69.6%, secretory 64.3%; p = 0.9332).
    Conclusion: In contrast to prior studies which showed up to 65% decrease in implantation rate after endometrial scratch performed at time of oocyte retrieval, this study shows no significant difference in implantation when the injury is performed at the time of oocyte retrieval as compared to other phases of the menstrual cycle. Possible explanation may be that we did not perform a scratch if fresh embryo transfer was planned. As endometrial injury is associated with patient discomfort, performing the scratch while under conscious sedation for oocyte retrieval may be desirable in cycles where fresh embryo transfer is not planned. Future studies are needed to assess the validity of these findings.

  • XML | PDF | downloads: 219 | views: 514 | pages: 89-97

    Objective: To investigate the effect of sitz bath of hydro-alcohol extract of myrrh plant on episiotomy wound healing.
    Materials and methods: the clinical trial was performed on 60 nulliparous women from July 2017 to December 2017. After episiotomy, the intervention and control groups respectively underwent sitz bath of myrrh gum and normal saline for 7 days. Data collection was REEDA scale.
    Results: Significant difference between the mean score of redness, proximity of wound edges to each other and REEDA scale in both groups on the third, seventh and tenth days after delivery (p < 0.05). There was a significant difference between mean scores of bruise on the 10th day and wound discharge on the 7th and 10th days. The mean scores of bruise were not significantly different between the two groups (p > 0.05).
    Conclusion: The effect of this myrrh plant on episiotomy wound healing is greater and faster than the effect of usual cares.

  • XML | PDF | downloads: 210 | views: 491 | pages: 98-108

    Objective: This study has investigated the protective role of a natural alternative, Solanum anomalum fruit extract in lead induced testicular toxicity in male albino rats.
    Materials and methods: Twenty-four mature male albino rats were used, divided into four groups of six rats per group. Group 1 (control rats) were given distilled water (10ml/kg), group 2 received lead acetate solution 60mg/kg, group 3 received lead acetate (60mg/kg) followed by Solanum anomalum (452mg/kg) and group 4 rats were given lead acetate (60mg/kg) followed by Solanum anomalum  (678mg/kg) by oral gavage daily for 28 days.
    Results: Lead treated group showed significant increase in Malondialdehyde MDA (1.58 ± 0.09 to
    1.90 ± 0.17 µmol/L of plasma) and decreases in Superoxide dismutase SOD, glutathione peroxidase (482.85 ± 53.43 to 247.18 ± 70.40 U/L of blood), total glutathione (1.11 ± 0.03 to 0.56 ± 0.31 ng/µL) (144.80 ± 7.00 and 122.39 ± 4.63 U/ml of blood), epididymal sperm reserve, testicular sperm count, % sperm motility and % sperm viability.
    Conclusion: Co-administration of Solanum anomalum significantly reversed the effect of lead with restoration of histoarchitecture of the testes. Solanum anomalum may be a protective modulator of lead -induced testicular injury.

     

  • XML | PDF | downloads: 185 | views: 396 | pages: 109-115

    Objective: Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) using cardiotocograph (CTG) is commonly used both to assess fetal wellbeing in late antepartum and for intervention during intrapartum period. We validated the performance of indigenously developed mobile cardiotocograph (CTG) device with wireless probes compared to standard CTG device.
    Materials and methods: We sequentially used mobile and standard CTG devices in 495 pregnant women in labour and 359 pregnant women with gestation > 32 weeks. The CTG interpreted by two independent obstetricians in a blinded manner were compared to estimate the agreement by kappa (k) statistic.
    Results: High level of agreements between mobile and standard CTG devices for both intrapartum (87.9%; kappa 0.61) and antepartum monitoring (91.2%; kappa 0.60) were observed. Most of the pregnant women (80% in intrapartum and 70% in antepartum groups) and all nurses and obstetricians preferred the mobile CTG device over standard CTG device.
    Conclusion: The mobile CTG device can reliably be used for both intrapartum and antepartum monitoring instead of the standard CTG devices. The smaller size, portability and ability to transmit the recordings for second opinion make it suitable for use by midwives for appropriate triaging and referral. Wider availability of CTG and interpretation support at the peripheral facilities would assist identifying at-risk pregnancies and foetuses for timely referral and appropriate action to reduce perinatal deaths, stillbirths and birth asphyxi.

Case Reports