Peripheral arterial tone: assessment of microcirculatory function in pregnancy.

Objective: Endothelial dysfunction is known to play a key role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, but the majority of methods for its detection are too invasive to be used in pregnancy. In this study we report a novel method - peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) - for examining microcirculatory function in pregnancy.

Methods: One hundred and eighty women with at least two risk factors for preeclampsia were examined at gestational weeks 16 and 28; 80 women were examined at 6-9 months postnatally.

Promoting recruitment of minority ethnic groups into research: qualitative study exploring the views of South Asian people with asthma.

Background: We sought to understand the barriers and facilitators to participation in research from the perspectives of South Asian people with asthma.

Methods: Eight focus groups were conducted in the preferred language of participants. Sampling was purposeful to ensure inclusion of males and females from differing ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds.