• Vol 10 • February 2008 154 Amniotic fluid embolism is uncommon (1:8000 to 1:80,000 deliveries) but lethal. It is a leading cause of maternal death in the developed world. Up to 61% of women who sustain it either die or suffer permanent neurological damage. The patient experiences sudden dyspnea, rapidly followed by hypotension, desaturation, cyanosis, cardiac dysrhythmia and cardiorespiratory...

When adhered to consistently, ART can reduce the HIV viral load in an individual’s blood, semen, vaginal fluid and rectal fluid to such a low level that blood tests can’t detect it.1 This is described as an 'undetectable' viral load or viral suppression. In these circumstances, as long as someone’s viral load remains undetectable, their health will not be affected by HIV and they cannot transmi...

A 26-year-old woman presented to her gynecologist with persistent clear vaginal fluid loss for 2 months, accompanied by symptoms of headache and vertigo. Subsequently, she developed tenesmus. Surgical exploration revealed a duplicated anus and a presacral mass draining clear fluid containing white particles. In the following hours the patient developed a fulminant meningitis. Imaging (figure) r...

Ingestion of placenta or amniotic fluid by rats has been shown to enhance ongoing opioid-mediated antinociception, but does not, by itself, produce antinociception. This enhancement is produced by an active substance(s) in placenta and amniotic fluid that we have termed POEF for placental opioid-enhancing factor. Previous research has shown that enhancement requires mediation by the gastrointes...

Premature rupture of foetal membranes (PROM) complicates 10 % of pregnancies and is the most important identifiable cause of pre-term delivery. The diagnosis of PROM is based on the detection of amniotic fluid in the vagina. This can be achieved by chemical, clinical or biochemical methods. An ideal test should be specific for amniotic fluid and should not be affected by gestational age or inte...

For human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, microbicides or drugs delivered as quick-dissolving films may be more acceptable to women than gels because of their compact size, minimal waste, lack of an applicator, and easier storage and transport. This has the potential to improve adherence to promising products for preexposure prophylaxis. Vaginal films containing IQP-0528, a nonnucleosi...

While many virulence factors promoting Streptococcus pyogenes invasive disease have been described, specific streptococcal factors and host properties influencing asymptomatic mucosal carriage remain uncertain. To address the need for a refined model of prolonged S. pyogenes asymptomatic mucosal colonization, we have adapted a preestrogenized murine vaginal colonization model for S. pyogenes. I...

Amniotic fluid and placenta contain a substance (POEF) that when ingested enhances opioid-mediated analgesia produced by several agents (morphine injection, vaginal/cervical stimulation, late pregnancy, footshock), but not that produced by aspirin injection. The present series of experiments employed quaternary naltrexone, an opioid antagonist that does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier...

Ingestion of amniotic fluid or placenta by rats has been shown to enhance several types of opioid-mediated analgesia: that induced by morphine, footshock, vaginal/cervical stimulation, and late pregnancy. This enhancement has also been blocked by administration of opioid antagonists. The present study was designed to examine further the specificity of the enhancement effect for opioid-mediated ...

Vaginal colonization and symptomatic vaginitis involving Candida albicans is common during pregnancy (1,2); however, infection of the amniotic fluid in the presence of intact membranes is encountered rarely in obstetrical practice and mostly recognized retrospectively (3). C albicans is able to cross intact fetal membranes (4) and several case reports describe the isolation of the organism from...