Medicine

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Management of anaemia in pregnancy: experience from a Sri Lankan tertiary hospital unit
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2015) Palihawadana, T.; Dias, T.; Motha, C.; Thulya, S.D.; Herath, R.; Wijesinghe, P.S.
INTRODUCTION: Higher rates of pregnancy complications have been reported among anaemic pregnant women. Universal iron supplementation during pregnancy is recommended in countries where iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) prevalence rates are high. Sri Lanka also carries out a policy of such supplementation. The effectiveness of such programmes in different settings is variable. A retrospective analysis of the effectiveness of our current policy on prevention and treatment of anaemia was done for programme evaluation. METHODS: The North Colombo Obstetric Database (NORCOD) was used retrospectively to analyse the data between March and August 2014, at the university obstetric unit of the North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. All singleton pregnancies without medical comorbidities were included in the analysis. Those who did not have haemoglobin (Hb) recording in the first trimester or in the third trimester were excluded at the data cleaning stage. An Hb level of <11 g/dL and a level of <10.5 g/dL were considered as anaemia in first and third trimesters respectively. The prevalence of anaemia at booking, and the Hb status in the third trimester were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 1340 singleton pregnancies were included in the analysis and 74 were excluded from the analysis due to incomplete data. 28.9% (n = 366) were found to be anaemic at booking while 63.9% (n = 809) were with a normal Hb and 7.1% (n = 91) were with an Hb of >13 g/dL. In the third trimester the prevalence of anaemia was 11.5% (n = 146) while 64.7% (n = 820) were with normal Hb and 23.6% (n = 300) were with an Hb of >13 g/dL. Among the anaemic women at booking, 22% (n = 81) persisted to be anaemic in the third trimester while 65% (n = 238) became normal and 12.8% (n = 47) developed a higher Hb level. Among those with a high Hb at booking only 1% became anaemic by third trimester while 40.6% persisted to have a high Hb level. CONCLUSION The prevalence of anaemia in this population was of moderate severity (>20% but <40%) as defined by the WHO. Major shortcoming in our practice is that we were unable to successfully treat nearly quarter of women who present with anaemia at booking, thus highlighting sub-optimal treatment. Furthermore, a policy of universal supplementation seems to over treat women with a high Hb at booking. Therefore, a more individualised supplementation and treatment policy should be encouraged in routine clinical practice.
Dengue fever with bleeding manifestations in pregnancy: our experience
(Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2004) de Silva, B.A.; Palihawadana, T.S.; Fernando, W.S.; Wijesinghe, P.S.
Dengue fever, a mosquito borne flavivirus infection is endemic in Sri Lanka. An increased number of cases are seen in the recent past. An increase in the number of patients with secondary infection who are prone to develop complications such as bleeding manifestations, are expected due to repeated outbreaks of the disease, We report four cases of serologically confirmed Dengue fever. Different management strategies were adopted in each patient according to the clinical circumstances. Three antenatal mothers presented in 33, 38 and 39 weeks of POA and bleeding manifestations were present in all three of them. One of them died of an intracerebral haemorrhage after Caesarean section to deliver a stillborn following intrauterine death. Post Partum Haemorrhage (PPH) was experienced in another mother following caesarean section. In one patient bleeding manifestation appeared 2 days following normal delivery. She was managed conservatively. Though the clinical presentations may be similar to that of non pregnant patients, there can be many pitfalls in diagnosis and management of dengue fever occurring in pregnancy. Two of the patients described above developed acute dengue viral hepatitis, which needs to be differentiated from HELLP syndrome and acute fatty liver of pregnancy. Serological tests have a special place in diagnosis than in the non pregnant patients. The classical criteria used to identify Dengue Haemorrhagic fever (DHF), such as an increased haemotocrit and postural hypotension were not present in these patients. In management, the administration of intravenous fluids needed to be more closely observed. They seemed to be more prone to develop bleeding manifestations than non pregnant patients and therefore platelet transfusions were required in early stages. Early interventions to deliver the baby, if the other circumstances permit, seem to offer a better outcome in patients presenting in the antenatal period.
Primary spontaneous complete colporrhexis
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2002) Wijesinghe, P.S.
No Abstract Available
The Caesarean section rate is rising
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2001) Gunasekera, P.C.; Wijesinghe, P.S.; Goonewardene, I.M.R.
No Abstract Available.
Spontaneous hepatic rupture in pregnancy
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 1998) Wijesinghe, P.S.; Gunasekera, P.C.; Sirisena, J.
Spontaneous hepatic rupture in pregnancy is rare and associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality. It has been reported in association with severe pregnancy-induced hypertension and HELP (haemolysis elevated liver enzymes low platelets) syndrome. New imaging techniques enable early diagnosis, and in those with subcapsular haematomas, conservative management. Surgical intervention is necessary in capsular rupture with haemodynamic instability. We here report three fatal cases and discuss the diagnosis and management
Rubella immunisation and pregnancy
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 1997) Gunasekera, P.C.; Wijesinghe, P.S.; Gunasekera, D.P.
No Abstract Available

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