Obstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: The HIV serodiscordant couple : case report
The term "HIV serodiscordant couple" refers to an HIV-seropositive person who is sexually active with an HIV-uninfected partner. Infertility affects approximately 15% of the general population but...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Spine cord injury and male infertility :...
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a unique medical condition and occurs most commonly to young men who are at the peak of their reproductive health. Only 5% of SCI patients can father a child without medical...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Early recurrent pregnancy loss : case report
Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) frequently presents as a clinical dilemma for most clinicians caring for these desperate couples. The history and clinical assessment should be thorough and special...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Letter to editor
I congratulate Suren Ramphal on his editorial, "Can we eradicate fistulae in South Africa?" His comments regarding obstetric fistula are particularly welcome, and I think his thoughts on prevention...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: The management of a patient with...
Globozoospermia is a severe form of teratozoospermia associated with the absence of the acrosome. In about 1% of round-headed spermatozoa an acrosome may persist as a rudimentary structure. It is the...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism :...
For men who use anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) a unique condition known as anabolic steroid-induced hypogonadism (ASIH) becomes a real concern. ASIH has recently been identified as a potentially...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Recurrent implantation failure in the...
Repeated failure to conceive following the transfer of good quality embryos into a normal uterus over at least two in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Lifestyle and the influence on semen...
Infertility, defined as the inability of a sexually active couple to conceive after 1 year of regular intercourse without contraception, affects approximately 15% of couples, and male factors are the...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Prevention and management of wound...
A wound can be defined as the disturbance of the skin's normal structure and function and the soft tissue beneath it. Wound complications are major contributors to both early and late postoperative...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Congenital and neonatal infections : review
Infections acquired in utero or during the birth process are a significant cause of fetal and neonatal mortality and an important contributor to early and later childhood morbidity. The original...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in women...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates a staggering 8.6 million new tuberculosis cases every year (Global TB report, 2013). Seventy five percent of the 8.6 million cases are from the Africa...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: HIV and pregnancy : review
South Africa has a high burden of HIV disease. Approximately 29% of antenatal clinic attendees are infected with HIV. A compromised immune system in pregnancy was thought to render the HIV positive...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Ebola virus disease and pregnancy : guest...
Pregnant women with ebola virus disease (EVD) are at increased risk of severe disease and death compared to non-pregnant patients. Pregnancy loss is common in all trimesters, and women may be in labour...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Setting minimum standards for safe...
A publication of the National Committee on Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in South Africa : Recommendations arising from a Workshop on Safe Caesarean Delivery at the Perinatal Priorities...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: A survey of health professionals on the...
Background: There is a progressive shift away from the use of operative vaginal deliveries in favour of caesarean delivery in obstetrics. The current study aimed to assess on the use of forceps /...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Caesarean delivery and maternal mortality :...
The association between caesarean delivery (CD) and maternal mortality (MM) is very complex.
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Preparing for caesarean delivery : review
Caesarean delivery (CD) is associated with an almost three-fold higher risk of maternal death than vaginal delivery in South Africa. An emergency CD is associated with higher risks of severe bleeding...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Anaesthesia and caesarean safety : review
Caesarean delivery is associated with a higher maternal mortality than vaginal birth. Anaesthesia complications are asignificant contributor to this fact. Reported avoidable anaesthetic mortality rates...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Caesarean section deliveries - are we doing...
The rate of caesarean deliveries (the new term for caesarean sections) has risen worldwide over the past years, and the South African numbers reflect this phenomenon. Accurate rates are difficult to...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Editorial
The theme for this edition is safe caesarean delivery. Patient safety has in recent years been emphasised as a result of the broad dissemination of information on maternal health matters in the...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Female genital mutilation - an update : review
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice involving several types of external female genitalia cutting. The tradition is most prevalent in 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East. It...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: The pathogenesis of endometriosis : still...
Endometriosis is defined by the presence of endometrial-like glands and stroma outside of the uterus. It has an incidence of up to 50% in women seeking treatment for pain and infertility, places a...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Does the Burch colposuspension still have a...
Stress urinary incontinence has a prevalence of up to 50%. The open Burch colposuspension was first described in 1961. This procedure proved to be very effective in the treatment of genuine stress...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Obstetrics claims' inflation. Can we fix...
The steadily increasing obstetric claims' inflation has been accompanied by increases in the cost of obstetric indemnity to such an extent that the issue may threaten private obstetric practice in...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Gynaecologic malignancies in pregnancy
Malignancy in pregnancy is rare. Cervical and, to a lesser extent, ovarian cancer are the commonest gynaecological malignancies diagnosed in pregnancy. Cancer care may involve surgery, radiation or...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Evidence in family planning and...
Unmet need for contraception remains high in many settings. It is highest among the most vulnerable in society including adolescents, the poor, those living in rural areas, people living with HIV, and...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Antenatal corticosteroids - established but...
Preterm birth is a global problem that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality as well as the consumption of valuable, scarce resources. It also has potentially significant, long-term,...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Approach to adnexal masses in the...
Although adnexal masses in adolescents are rare occurrences, the implications of diagnosis and surgical treatment can affect the adolescent psychologically and have an impact on future fertility. Most...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: An update on congenital Cytomegalovirus...
Counselling regarding congenital CMV infection is challenging as it may have a protracted clinical course from the time of suspected maternal infection until evidence of fetal damage. Gestational age...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Sustainable development goals : editorial
In the year 2000 the United Nations adopted the Millennium Declaration that included the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). MDG 5 set two targets. To reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by 75%...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Umbilical cord blood stem cells :...
The history of stem cells is interesting and is tainted with debate and controversy as it has been the cause of heated debate between religious groups, scientists, the public and governments. There are...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Review of pregnancy and fertility issues in...
Introduction. Rheumatic diseases occur more commonly in women and often during child bearing age. SLE is 10-15 times more common in women than in men. Most SLE patients present with their disease...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: The acute abdomen : review
Introduction. The term "acute abdomen" is used to describe a spectrum of gynaecological, medical, surgical and urological conditions, ranging from minor ailments to life-threatening diseases. These...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Acute kidney injury in pregnancy : review
Pregnancy related acute kidney injury (PrAKI) is a relatively rare syndrome, and is associated with many pregnancy-unique diseases. Due to the physiological changes of pregnancy, PrAKI is difficult to...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Haematological conditions in the obstetric...
Haematological abnormalities are frequently encountered in the obstetric patient. Cytopenias are common, with anaemiaand thrombocytopenia predominating. Many other haematological conditions are seen...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Obstetric medicine : guest editorial
Introduction. About 50% of all maternal deaths in South Africa are due to medical conditions. Although the institutional maternal mortality ratio (iMMR) has decreased from 176.22/100 000 live births in...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: New guidelines for Zika Virus 2016 : review
Introduction. Zika virus has caused a self- limiting pyrexial illness across Africa and South East Asia for decades. Recently there has been a rapid spread of the Zika virus in South America. However,...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Extrauterine pregnancy : review article
Extrauterine pregnancies contribute substantially to maternal mortality in all parts of the world. The most common cause of these deaths is massive bleeding after rupture of the ectopic pregnancy. The...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Blood pressure measurement and rapid acting...
The use of an inappropriate device and or technique for blood pressure (BP) measurement in pregnancy results in inaccurate BP readings. Under or over-estimation of the BP will influence clinical...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Anaesthetic considerations in the...
Morbidity and mortality due to hypertensive disorders remain a health issue worldwide. Intimate knowledge is needed on how to try and prevent complications but also on how to manage them when they do...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Management of postnatal hypertension : review
Hypertension continuing into, or developing in the puerperium have not received adequate attention in the health sector resulting in inadequate reliable data to advise appropriate management. The...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Understanding expectant management of...
Hypertensive diseases are important causes of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity globally and particularly in South Africa. Sentinel studies performed in South Africa have assessed the...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Prevention of pre-eclampsia : calcium...
Pre-eclampsia is strikingly more common in low- than high-income countries. Understanding the mechanisms responsible for these differences may provide clues to strategies to prevent the condition. One...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Editorial
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are the commonest direct cause of maternal deaths in South Africa. The Saving Mothers Report (2011-2013) indicates that 14.8% of all deaths are due to HDP. The...
View ArticleObstetrics and Gynaecology Forum: Early detection of Pre-Eclampsia : review
Pre-eclampsia is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The current recommended screening approach is to identify risk factors from maternal history and demographic...
View Article
