Objectives: To determine the microbiologic flora after surgical skin preparation of the incision site using either chlorhexidine or povidone iodine antiseptic solution prior to cesarean section among obstetric patients. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of ninety-two (92) obstetric patients who were admitted for cesarean section. They underwent fishbowl lottery, wherein participants drew from a bag of folded stubs written chlorhexidine or povidone iodine, to determine their distribution to either group. Forty six (46) participants were distributed in each group. Skin cultures were obtained by the researchers from the incision site after surgical skin preparation using chlorhexidine or povidone iodine. Results: Total of 92 participants enrolled in this study, 46 participants in chlorhexidine group and another 46 participants in povidone iodine group. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of clinicodemographic characteristics. Out of the 92 participants, only one participant, under the povidone iodine group, showed a growth of 100,000 colony-forming units of Enterobacter cloacae and has no statistical significance in the growth of microbiologic flora after effective surgical skin preparation with either chlorhexidine or povidone iodine. Conclusions This study showed that chlorhexidine and povidone iodine are both effective in eliminating microbiologic flora after surgical skin preparation prior to cesarean section. Povidone iodine is still a sound choice of antiseptic especially in low resource setting. Due to the descriptive nature of this paper, only assumptions that chlorhexidine and povidone iodine are comparable antiseptic solutions can be deduced from this study.
Cesarean Section ; Povidone-Iodine

Endometrial polyp, being one of the most common causes of abnormal uterine bleeding, is formed from localized overgrowths of endometrial tissue brought about by increased estrogen levels. Sizes of polyps usually are less than 2cm, while those >4 cm are labeled as giant polyps. Such polyps can even occupy the entire endometrial cavity, making complete hysteroscopic removal difficult and prone to failure and morbidity. Limited literature regarding use of GnRH agonist in endometrial polyps are published, but given the idea that it induces a state of hypoestrogenism, it could be a promising approach for neoadjuvant treatment in such cases. In this paper, 3 cases of giant endometrial polyps with fertility problems were given GnRH agonists prior to resection. All cases have shown significant decrease in size of their polyps, making complete and successful hysteroscopic removal feasible.
Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Polyps

Background: PCOS is a common gynecologic disorder and recent studies have found that they are more prone in developing depression and anxiety compared to the general population. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a popular and simple self-administered instrument reliable for detecting states of anxiety and depression. Using this simple screening tool, it may lead to the identification of such mental disorders that may warrant timely psychiatric referral. Objectives: We aim to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among PCOS patients using the HADS-P questionnaire. We also aim to determine association between depression & anxiety and disease characteristics. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using convenience sampling of PCOS patients >18 years old in Philippine General Hospital. The HADS-P, a self-administered rating scale with independent subscales for anxiety and depression, was administered to the participants after securing consent. A cut–off score of >8 points on either of the depression and anxiety subscale was used to determine their respective prevalence. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association of clinical variables with anxiety or depression. Results: A total of 253 patients with PCOS were recruited. On the basis of a HADS-P score of >8.0 per category, the prevalence of PCOS patients who were suggestive to have anxiety was 46.25% (n: 117, 95% CI: 39.98-52.60%), while 9.09% (n: 23, 95% CI: 5.85-13.33%) of them were suggestive to have depression. Crude logistic regression identified presence of depression, infertility, impaired glucose tolerance and prominent acne as predictors of anxiety; whereas low parity, hirsutism and presence of anxiety were predictors of depression. Adjusted logistic regression identified only presence of depression and infertility were significant predictors of anxiety (n: 116, LR χ2 (5): 15.46, p<0.01); while presence of anxiety increase the odds of depression by 2 to 13 fold, it was not statistically significant (n: 116, LR χ2 (5): 9.79, p: 0.08). Conclusion There is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression among PCOS patients. The factors that were seen to be significantly associated with the development of anxiety were the presence of depression, impaired glucose tolerance, infertility and prominent acne, while for the development of depression were the presence of anxiety, hirsutism and low parity. Screening for anxiety and depression is of paramount importance and physicians should be vigilant for the need of possible psychiatric intervention.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Hads ; 4-amino-4' ; -hydroxylaminodiphenylsulfone ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome