The Australian & New Zealand journal of obstetrics & gynaecology
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The purpose of prenatal screening is obviously to identify genetic and other disorders before a child is born. In the majority of cases, the intention is that the pregnancy should be terminated if the child is found to be affected by a serious disorder. Despite this expectation, the law in Victoria does not recognize fetal abnormality as a ground for abortion. ⋯ When the fetus is older, a doctor may be charged with child destruction as well as abortion. This requires proof that the doctor 'unlawfully cause[d] such child to die' and acted 'with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive'. These terms are open to interpretation but it is not necessarily a defence that the child had a serious abnormality.
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Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol · Jun 1994
ReviewPractical problems which women encounter with available contraception in Australia.
Australian women face major difficulties with contraception because of the limited range of choices, the need for meticulous attention to compliance with most available methods and because of cost limitations for a significant minority of the population. The most commonly used methods are oral contraceptive pills and barrier methods, and each has substantial compliance problems which can be minimized with care and counselling. There is an urgent need for a wider range of options in Australia and for good information and publicity about them. Present progress in this direction gives some hope for the near future.
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Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol · Feb 1994
Outpatient management of Bartholin gland abscesses and cysts with silver nitrate.
This study reports results of 52 patients with Bartholin abscesses or cysts who were managed by silver nitrate stick insertion into the cyst or abscess cavity for 48 hours. All patients showed complete healing within 15 days. However, 2 (3.8%) had recurrences within the first 2 months; 1 of these patients was treated with excision and the other by repetition of the same method with no further complaints. Silver nitrate application for Bartholin cysts or abscesses was found to be an effective, simple, inexpensive and the least anaesthetic requiring procedure, which can easily be carried out in the outpatient setting.
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In a 4-year-period there were 31 admissions to Nehru Hospital, because of nonobstetric injuries of the female genital tract. This constituted 0.8% of all gynaecological admissions over this period. The injuries were caused by voluntary coitus, automobile accidents and various types of astride injuries. ⋯ Two of the 13 patients with coital injury were admitted with haemorrhagic shock and required initial resuscitation with blood transfusion. The vaginal vault, especially the right and posterior fornices were the frequent sites of coital injury for parous women; on the other hand lower vaginal and introital injuries were caused by first acts of coitus. Except for trivial superficial lacerations with minimal bleeding, primary definitive surgical repair other than vaginal packing was favoured for better healing and to reduce morbidity.
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Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol · Nov 1993
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialKetorolac versus fentanyl for gynaecological day-case surgery.
The effectiveness of fentanyl and ketorolac in providing analgesia for day-case gynaecological procedures was evaluated in 55 healthy volunteers in a single blinded fashion. Fentanyl (1 mcg/kg iv) and ketorolac (30 mg im) were administered immediately following induction of anaesthesia. Anaesthesia was standardized with propofol, nitrous oxide and enflurane. ⋯ There was no significant difference between the 2 groups with respect to any of the measured variables. Both drugs were ineffective as sole analgesic agents in half of their respective groups. It may be that a combination of these drugs, providing a multireceptor approach to analgesia, will prove to be more effective.