A couple of articles drew my attention this week as sent out in an email, released by the medical school.
Fighting Cervical Cancer in Under-Resourced Countries
David McGregor and Adeola Olaitan. the Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. Jan 2010.
Cervical cancer is not merely a condition prevalent in more economically developed countries. It is a condition which is preventable and in the UK a vaccine has now been produced which targets the human papilloma virus. However this may not be avaliable in many poorer countries. It is tragic that this preventable form of cancer still claims the lives of hundreds of thousands of women every year. 80% of cervical cancer deaths occur in under-resourced countries. In high resource countries such as the UK the number of deaths have been reduced now by 90% with the vaccine and cervical screening programmes in place. Low awareness of the condition is a major barrier in poorer countries. New methods of prevention are now emerging, such as the prospect of human papilloma virus DNA testing and visual inspection with acetic acid. Sreening and immunisation processes are only likely to succeed with sufficient patient education to go along side it.
The second article regards a review on how to manage women who decline blood products during pregnancy for religious reasons of for concerns regarding their safety.
Review: Management of women who decline blood and blood products in pregnancy.
Jane Currie, Matthew Hogg et al. The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. Jan 2010.
Mortality rates are significantly increased amongst these women and antenatal councelling must involve a senior management team. Considerable efforts are required to optimise pre-delivery haemoglobin and identify risk factors for haemorrhage. Intra-partum techniques to avoid blood transfusion include cell salvage and early recourse to definitive surgical management in the event of a massive obstetric haemorrhage. Women's autonomy can be respected with accurate information and empathic councelling.
No comments:
Post a Comment