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Bleeding at cannula insertion sites during laparoscopic procedures often is difficult to manage. The few published techniques for controlling abdominal wall bleeding include suturing under direct observation, electrocoagulation, and placement of a Foley catheter. These methods may provide less than adequate hemostasis, however. We developed a technique of direct suture placement under laparoscopic guidance using an absorbable monofilament suture and the Stamey needle as a ligature carrier.

Mandatory research in an obstetrics-and-gynecology residency can be an effective tool for teaching physicians the skills needed for them to become intelligent readers of the medical literature. We present our 15-year experience with a resident research program. We discovered that in addition to achieving the primary goal in resident education, structured resident research has many other benefits.

The incidence of bilateral tubal ectopic pregnancies is reported to range from 1/725 to 1/1,580 extrauterine pregnancies. We report a case of bilateral ectopic pregnancies in a patient who had previously undergone bilateral partial salpingectomies for contraception. An extensive literature review identified one patient with a similar sterilization history in whom a bilateral ectopic pregnancy occurred.

Confidentiality is a fundamental rule of medicine and has been specifically defined in many codes of medical ethics. A changing clinical environment both because of diseases such as AIDS, which were not anticipated when these clinical codes were created, and because of the changing relationship between the physician, the patient, and the payor for the physician's care creates dilemmas concerning the rule of confidentiality.

Candida vaginitis develops in approximately one-fourth of women in their childbearing years. Conventional management consists of antifungal creams or tablets/suppositories administered intravaginally. Many patients have stated preferences for oral therapy. A randomized, double-blind placebo trial compared the efficacy of a single oral 200 mg dose of fluconazole with the application of terconazole 80 mg vaginal suppository daily for 3 days. Twenty-two patients (fluconazole = 12, terconazole = 10) were evaluated during a four-month period and favorable clinical responses were observed at both early and late evaluations. Mycologic cure was attained by 75% of the fluconazole group and 50% of the terconazole group at the early evaluation. At the late evaluation, mycologic cure was 75% and 100% respectively. The mean time to onset of symptom relief was 2.4 (1.7) days for the fluconazole group and 1.8 (1.8) days for the terconazole group. The mean time to complete relief of symptoms was 6.08 (2.84) and 6.6 (2.95) days respectively. A statistically significant difference did not exist for any of these measures. Seventy-three percent of the patients preferred oral therapy.

Patients hospitalized with acute pelvic inflammatory disease at University Medical Center of Jacksonville had a mean age of 26.8 years. Contraception use was minimal and mean gravidity was two. Hospitalized patients had a high incidence of peritonitis and tubo-ovarian abscess. N. gonorrhoeae was cultured in 50%. Mean temperature on admission was 100.5 degrees and mean white blood cell count 15,400. Mean hospitalization was 5.5 days. Two of nine patients tested for HIV were positive (22% of those tested, 2% of all patients reviewed).

Ninety members of the Jacksonville Obstetrical and Gynecological Society were surveyed as to their practice patterns; 55 responded. Due to fear of litigation, 34% had stopped delivering obstetrical care and 63% plan to discontinue perinatal care during the next ten year. At least one malpractice claim had been filed against 51%; 9% had two, and 11% three or more. Prenatal and intrapartum testing has increased primarily because of fear of litigation. Obstetric fees increased 44% during the last five years, according to the survey, compared to a Consumer Price Index rise of 20%. Mean malpractice premiums rose 42% during the same interval.

The use of antibiotics in the management of preterm, premature rupture of membranes remains controversial. By use of a prospective randomized double-blind design we investigated the maternal-fetal benefits associated with antibiotic therapy in 85 women with premature rupture of membranes at 34 weeks' estimated gestational age. In the treatment group 40 patients received intravenous mezlocillin for 48 hours followed by oral ampicillin until delivery. In the control group 45 patients received intravenous and oral placebo. Patients who received antibiotics had chorioamnionitis and endometritis less frequently than the control group (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.05). Pathologic examination of the placentas showed a lower incidence of chorioamnionitis in the treatment group (p less than 0.05). The period from premature rupture of membranes to delivery (latency) was prolonged with antibiotics (p less than 0.05) and resulted in significant weight gain in the infants in the antibiotic group (p less than 0.0001). These infants also had higher 1- and 5-minute Apgar scores. Clinically suspected sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage, perinatal death rate, and prolonged hospitalization (greater than 30 days) were also increased in the control group.

cis-Platinum is a chemotherapeutic agent with benefits often limited by the severe gastrointestinal reactions it produces in nearly all patients. Persistent anorexia, nausea, and vomiting may continue for days after therapy and are poorly controlled by conventional antiemetics. Patients at times refuse continuation of cis-platinum chemotherapy because of these severe gastrointestinal side effects. Intravenous methylprednisolone (Solu-medrol) as well as intravenous metoclopramide (Reglan) have been shown effective in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. This randomized, double-blind study is a comparison of the efficacy of Solu-medrol vs Reglan, as well as, the combination of Solu-medrol and Reglan in the prevention of cis-platinum-induced nausea and vomiting. In this study patients receiving Reglan had better protection from vomiting than patients receiving Solu-medrol (P = 0.0564). Patients receiving the combination of Reglan and Solu-medrol had better protection from vomiting than patients receiving Reglan alone (P = 0.0332), or patients receiving Solu-medrol alone (P = 0.0010). Finally, older patients experienced less vomiting than younger patients, regardless of the anti-emetic drugs used (P = 0.0730).

During one year, 646 women who delivered by cesarean section entered into a prospective randomized clinical trial to determine if a single intraoperative dose of cefazolin was as effective as cefotetan in the prevention of postoperative endomyometritis. Of 336 patients receiving 2 gm cefazolin intravenously at the time of clamping of the cord, endomyometritis developed in 30 (8.91%), and of 310 patients who received 2 gm cefotetan intravenously at the time of clamping of the cord, endomyometritis developed in 36 (11.6%). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of endomyometritis between the two groups (p = .269). We conclude that since the two drugs are equal in efficacy 2 gm of cefazolin is a cost effective method of prophylaxis for cesarean section.

An investigation was carried out to determine whether colposcopic examination would be valuable in documenting vaginal intercourse. A prospective study was conducted on 18 volunteers, each of whom was examined after 72 hours of sexual abstinence and again within 6 hours after vaginal intercourse. Each of two examinations consisted of a colposcopic examination of the vaginal mucosa before and after staining with Lugol's solution to maximize the possibility of finding trauma. Positive colposcopic findings were found in 61.1% of patients after consensual vaginal intercourse as compared with 11.1% of patients after abstinence (p less than 0.01).

Records were reviewed of all patients with premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) at or less than 34 weeks estimated gestational age (EGA) who delivered at University Hospital of Jacksonville, Florida, during 1987. That year 132 patients were identified, 3.1% of all deliveries. The mean time from membrane rupture to delivery was three days, and the duration of PROM seven or more days in 9% of cases. Chorioamnionitis was diagnosed in 20% of the mothers. Delivery was by cesarean section in 30% of cases, twice the primary rate at University Hospital for 1987. Sixty-five percent of infants were male, and 13 males and four females of the 132 infants died before or after birth, the majority due to prematurity. Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) was found in 35 infants and in 80% of these cases the membrane ruptured at 30 weeks or less. Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) was diagnosed in 8% of cases. Neonatal sepsis was a common diagnosis (41% of deliveries) with incidence being similar at all gestational ages. The length of membrane rupture was not statistically significant when compared with neonatal sepsis (P = 0.39).

We have described a case of vernix caseosa granuloma after cesarean section in a young woman. The granuloma necessitated a second laparotomy and bowel resection. Review of the literature failed to reveal a similar complication after cesarean section.

Fifty-nine patients who underwent cryotherapy on the uterine cervix at University Hospital of Jacksonville between September 1974 and September 1980 subsequently gave birth at that institution. Of these patients, three had repeat cesarean sections and three had D&Cs in the interval between cryotherapy and pregnancy. The remaining 53 patients were matched with 53 controls for age, parity, fetal weight and absence of cervical surgery. Data were gathered and compared with respect to the cesarean section rate, precipitous dilation, cervical lacerations, postpartum hemorrhage, oxytocin augmentation of labor, Apgar scores, use of forceps and other obstetric complications. There were no significant differences in any of these parameters between the two groups. However, 19 cases had precipitous labor as opposed to 11 controls (0.1 greater than p greater than 0.05). Cryotherapy for cervical dysplasia does not appear to have any deleterious effects on the outcome of term labor.

Gynecologic malignancies are the third most common cancer among women in the United States. Because of often subtle early findings, the diagnosis may not be made before the widespread dissemination of the disease. The Emergency Department physician will commonly encounter a woman with vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain, or a symptomatic abdominal mass. In this article, we have described the epidemiology, recognized patterns of spread, and associated findings of gynecologic tumors. The proper Emergency Department evaluation and management of these problems is emphasized with guidelines for the timing of referrals and consultation with the gynecologic oncologist. The treatment of gynecologic malignancies is often complicated and responsible for Emergency Department visits. The various modalities are addressed according to the organ systems affected and include sections on postoperative problems, gastrointestinal complaints, urologic complications of therapy, radiation therapy and its complications, with an emphasis on the most serious complications necessitating either careful outpatient management or hospital admission. As cost-containment pressure grows, we have included sections on chemotherapy and total parenteral nutrition, both of which are becoming common outpatient events for the cancer patient.

Cytoplasmic estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) levels were measured in ovarian epithelial carcinomas from 37 patients using a dextran-coated charcoal assay prior to any treatment. Sixty-eight percent of the tumors were ER positive, forty-nine percent were PR positive, forty-one percent were positive for both receptors, and twenty-seven percent were negative for both receptors. Receptor status in epithelial ovarian carcinomas was found to have no clinical significance when correlated with age, parity, race, cigarette smoking, surgical stage, histologic type, histologic grade, progression-free interval, or patient survival.

Therapeutic approaches to endometrial cancer have traditionally been based on preoperative clinical staging. We conducted a retrospective review of 56 women with diagnoses of stage I and II endometrial cancer in order to compare preoperative clinical staging with postoperative staging based on pathologic data. We found a change in stage based on surgical findings in 41.1% of the cases. Endocervical curettage was falsely positive in 92.8% of cases. In addition, an overall change in tumor grade occurred in 39.3% of patients. Preoperative clinical staging of endometrial cancer is associated with a large margin of error when compared to surgical pathologic data.