A 25-year-old lady presented with a severe normocytic anemia (Hb 5.3 g/dl) and a sideroblastic marrow at the end of her first pregnancy. Six months into the puerperium, after the transfusion of a total of 8 units of red cells, there was apparent spontaneous improvement and then she was lost to follow-up. After a second pregnancy without clinical problems, she presented during a third pregnancy, at the age of 30 years, with similar hematological findings. Twenty-two months later she was well with a normal blood count. One possible reason for relapse in pregnancy is the increased demand for pyridoxine that occurs, but only one other case of sideroblastic anemia relapsing during pregnancies has been reported.
Introduction: To review the gestational age at diagnosis, method of diagnosis, pregnancy outcome and
maternal complications of prenatally diagnosed lethal foetal anomalies. Methods: Retrospective review of 25
women who had aborted or delivered foetuses with lethal anomalies in a tertiary hospital in 2011 based on
patient medical records. Results: There were a total of 10,088 deliveries, in which 25 (0.24%) women were
found to have conceived foetuses with lethal anomalies. All of them were diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound
and only 7 (28.0%) had both prenatal ultrasound and genetic study done. The women’s mean age was 29.9
years old. The mean gestational age at diagnosis of lethal foetal anomalies was 25.5 weeks (SD=12.5) and
mean gestational age at termination of pregnancy (TOP) or delivery was 28.5 weeks (SD=12.5). Seven (28%)
women had early counseling and TOP at the gestation of < 22 weeks. Beyond 22 weeks of gestation, eight
(32%) women had TOP and ten (40%) women had spontaneous delivery. Twenty (80%) women delivered or
aborted vaginally, three (12%) women with assisted breech delivery and two (8%) women with abdominal
delivery which were performed due to transverse foetal lie in labour and a failed induction, leading to
emergency hysterotomy complicated by hysterectomy due to intraoperative finding of ruptured uterus.
Overall, the associated post-partum adverse events included post-partum haemorrhage (12%), retained
placenta (12%), blood transfusion (8%), uterine rupture (4%) and endometritis (4%). Mean duration of hospital
stay was 6.6 days (SD 3.7 days). Conclusion: Late diagnosis of lethal foetal anomalies leads to various
maternal morbidities, in this case series , which could have been prevented if they were diagnosed and
terminated at early trimester. A new direction is needed in our local practice.
Dysmenorrhea is a common presentation in women of reproductive age in primary care. It can negatively affect the quality of life of a woman and restrict her daily activities. Endometriosis is the most common diagnosis for secondary dysmenorrhea. However, cutaneous endometriosis is an uncommon presentation of endometriosis. It requires a thorough history, physical examination and histological findings for definitive diagnosis. This paper reports an interesting case of a 47- year-old woman with primary cutaneous umbilical endometriosis and its management. Her final diagnosis was primary umbilical endometriosis with Stage 3 endometriosis based on the patient's history, clinical and surgical findings. The patient was discharged well on day three of operation and has been well since then with no signs of recurrence.
Objective: Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) is a highly prevalent disease which varies by geography
and culture. It influences the quality of life and has social implication. The objectives of this study are to
estimate the prevalence of LUTS among women attending our gynaecology clinic, the associated risk factors
and their quality of life. Method: This is a cross sectional study on women attending gynaecology clinic in a
tertiary centre. Participants were given 3 sets of validated self-answered questionnaire, UDI-6, IIQ-7 and
OAB V8. Results: the prevalence of luts is 50.6% which is common among Malay women. Forty nine percent
is due to stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The risk of LUTS is significantly associated with obesity (AOR =
12.14 95% CI = 1.21 to 121.99, p – value = 0.034), higher parity (AOR = 1.68 95% CI = 1.26 to 2.24, p – value =