Search

Objectives: To screen the women suffering from vesico-vaginal fistulae for depression prior to surgery and different potential precipitating factors that may be involved. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 22 women diagnosed with vesico-vaginal fistula admitted. Period: 15 April 2014 to 15 October 2014. Setting: Welfare ward of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit at Isra University Hospital Hyderabad, Sindh- Pakistan, waiting for surgery were included in the study. Material and method: Women with other causes of urinary incontinence, any co-morbidity and pregnant women were excluded. All data collected on a preformed proforma including the demographic data, profile of fistula and attitude of the husbands, family and neighbors towards them and Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAM-D) was used for screening the patients for depression, after the verbal consent of individuals and was analyzed on SPSS version 16.0. Results: The mean age of 22 study participants was 36.36(±9.204) years ranging from 22-55.Majority 81.8% patients were suffering from different severity of depression. Many patients wished they were dead, felt life is not worth living, had suicidal ideas, and even one attempted to commit suicide. Majority of patient's husbands and family were sympathetic and encouraging but many were maltreated by their neighbors (p=0.04). Conclusion: These patients are living with more than just a physical defect which needs to be considered as part of their treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the frequency of use of over-the-counter medication among pregnant women, types of medicines, source of information and reason to opts for self-medication., Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Isra University Hospital, Hyderabad, Pakistan, from April 14 to October 14, 2014, and comprised pregnant women who were interviewed face to face. Data was collected on a proforma comprising demographic data, practice of using over-the-counter medications before and during pregnancy, type of medicines, illnesses, knowledge about the medicines, source of recommendation and reason for practicing it. Data was analysed on SPSS 16., Results: The mean age of 351 patients in the study was 26.19±4.82 years (range: 18-45 years).The mean gestational age was 26.28±10.42. Overall, 223(63.5%) patients were using over-the-counter drugs before pregnancy; 128(36.5%) had used them in previous pregnancy; and 133(37.9%) were using them during the current pregnancy. Most common medication used was acetaminophen 58(43.6%), headache was the most common illness 80(60.2%). A total of 103(77.4%) had no knowledge about the medicines., Conclusions: A significant number of pregnant women indulged in the practice of using over-the-counter medication.