Continuous use of oral contraceptives: an overview of effects and side-effects.

Objective: To describe the effects and side-effects of the continuous use of oral contraceptives.

Design: A review of articles concerning oral contraceptives taken continuously or in cycles with hormones taken for more than 21 days per cycle.

Methods: We searched publications in PubMed and Embase.

Lower urinary tract symptoms after total and subtotal hysterectomy: results of a randomized controlled trial.

The aim of this Danish multicenter trial was to compare the proportion of women with lower urinary tract symptoms after total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) and subtotal abdominal hysterectomy (SAH) for benign uterine disorders. A total of 319 women were randomized to TAH (n = 158) or SAH (n = 161). Women were followed up for 1 year by strict data collection procedures, including postal questionnaires.

Sexuality after total vs. subtotal hysterectomy.

Background: The effect of hysterectomy on sexuality is not fully elucidated and until recently total and subtotal hysterectomies have only been compared in observational studies.

Aims: To compare total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) to subtotal abdominal hysterectomy (SAH) regarding effects on sexuality.

Methods: In a Danish multicenter trial 319 women were randomized to TAH (n = 158) or SAH (n = 161); 185 women had self-selected TAH (n = 80) or SAH (n = 105) in a simultaneously conducted observational study.

[Extrauterine pregnancy: diagnosis and treatment].

The incidence of ectopic pregnancy in Denmark has doubled since the beginning of the 1980's. A total of 2400 cases per year are identified corresponding to an ectopic localization in one of 40 pregnancies. An early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy depends on the use of vaginal ultrasound examination and serial determination of the concentration of serum-HCG.

[Fertilization in vitro in the presence of hydrosalpinx and in advanced age].

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of the presence of a hydrosalpinx and of increasing age on the pregnancy rate after in vitro fertilization (IVF). The presence or absence of a hydrosalpinx was determined by transvaginal ultrasonography before hormonal stimulation of the follicles. The study included 741 women treated in 1090 consecutive cycles in which at least one oocyte was aspirated.

[Laparoscopically treated extrauterine pregnancy].

During a period of 12 months 55 women were treated for 56 ectopic pregnancies. Forty of the 56 (71%) procedures were performed laparoscopically. The duration of operation was 74 minutes when a conservative procedure was used, and 83 minutes where a salpingectomy was performed.

Function of the corpus luteum, the endometrium and the trophoblast after treatment of tubal pregnancy by prostaglandin F2 alpha.

The activity of the corpus luteum, the endometrium and the trophoblast was studied after local medical treatment of 31 women with tubal pregnancy. We measured the serum concentration of progesterone, the secretory endometrial protein placental protein 14 (PP14), and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) before and after treatment by injection of prostaglandin F2 alpha into the site of the gestation and into the corpus luteum. There was no significant difference in the pre-treatment serum progesterone and serum PP14 concentrations of 26 women who were treated successfully and of five women, who were operated on after failure of the treatment.

[New therapeutic methods in tubal pregnancy].

A world-wide increase in the incidence of extrauterine pregnancy has increased interest in new forms of treatment of this condition. In Denmark, the number of cases of diagnosed tubal pregnancies has doubled from 1980 til 1989. Experience with the spontaneous course of tubal pregnancies is reviewed.

The secretory endometrial protein, placental protein 14, in women with ectopic gestation.

Objective: To determine the serum level of the secretory endometrial protein, placental protein 14 (PP14) and progesterone (P) in women with ectopic gestation.

Design: Blood samples were collected prospectively and preoperatively. Reference range was determined from a prospective population of 98 women with uncomplicated pregnancies and normal outcome.

Treatment of tubal pregnancy by local injection of prostaglandin: selection of patients and evaluation of subsequent tubal patency.

Thirty women who had a small unruptured tubal pregnancy were treated by laparoscopically guided injection of prostaglandin F2 alpha into the oviduct and into the corpus luteum. They had no side effects. The serum human chorionic gonadotropin (S-HCG) concentration decreased in 25 women to less than 20 IU/l in a median time of 8 days (range 1-45).

[Diagnosis and treatment of women with urinary incontinence at Danish gynecologic departments].

The routine practice in the diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence was investigated by means of a questionnaire to which all 32 departments replied. Miction charts were employed routinely in 17 departments and for selected patients in eight departments. Weighing of diapers was employed in 13 departments for all patients investigated for incontinence, but only for selected patients in ten departments.

Local prostaglandin treatment of ectopic pregnancy.

Eleven women with small unruptured tubal pregnancies were treated by laparoscopically guided injection of prostaglandin F2 alpha in the oviduct and in the ovary which contained the corpus luteum. They had no side effects of the treatment and were discharged from hospital 1-3 days later. In 10 women the serum concentration of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) decreased to less than 20 IU/l in a median time of 7.

Bacterial vaginosis: a double-blind randomized trial of the effect of treatment of the sexual partner.

In a double-blind randomized controlled trial we assessed the effect of metronidazole treatment of the male partner on the recurrence rate of bacterial vaginosis. Women who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for bacterial vaginosis were treated with metronidazole given in single doses of 2 g on days 1 and 3. The sexual partners were randomized to receive either the same dosage of metronidazole or a placebo.

Serum lipoprotein changes in climacteric women induced by sequential therapy with natural estrogens and medroxy-progesterone acetate or norgestrel.

Thirty perimenopausal women were randomized to sequential therapy with either estradiol-valerate and norgestrel (Cyclo-Progynon), or estradiol and medroxy-progesterone acetate (EM 627). Blood samples were drawn before treatment and in the third treatment cycle during estrogen and progestogen phases respectively. The clinical effects of the two treatments were without significant difference.

Serodiagnosis of syphilis by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for IgG antibodies against the Reiter treponeme flagellum.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for IgG antibodies against the flagellum (axial filament) of the Reiter treponeme (flagellum-ELISA) was developed and compared with the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test and the Treponema pallidum immobilization (TPI) test with regard to diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. One serum from each of 827 individuals with and without syphilis was studied. In all diagnostic groups of syphilis there was no significant difference between the sensitivity of the FTA-ABS and the flagellum-ELISA, except in treated syphilis, where the FTA-ABS was more sensitive (P less than 0.

Rubella IgG antibody detection by ELISA using capillary blood samples collected on filter paper and in microtainer tubes.

Rubella IgG antibodies determined by ELISA of capillary blood samples collected on filter paper and in Microtainer tubes. The results correlated well to those found in tests of venous blood samples. Capillary blood samples can be collected with little inconvenience and by relatively untrained personel.