CASE SUMMARY: Two special COVID-19 cases-one full-term pregnant woman and one elderly (72-year-old) man-were treated by veno-venous (VV)-ECMO in the Second People's Hospital of Zhongshan, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, China. Both patients had developed refractory hypoxemia shortly after hospital admission, despite conventional support, and were therefore managed by VV-ECMO. Although both experienced multiple ECMO-related complications on top of the COVID-19 disease, their conditions improved gradually. Both patients were weaned successfully from the ECMO therapy. At the time of writing of this report, the woman has recovered completely and been discharged from hospital to home; the man remains on mechanical ventilation, due to respiratory muscle weakness and suspected lung fibrosis. As ECMO itself is associated with various complications, it is very important to understand and treat these complications to achieve optimal outcome.
CONCLUSION: VV-ECMO can provide sufficient gas exchange for COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, it is crucial to understand and treat ECMO-related complications.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the extent to which accessibility and use of 11 specific family-friendly work conditions were associated with physical health, anxiety and depression in Malaysian women with young children.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional design using a retrospective self-complete, anonymous, online survey was conducted between March and October 2021.
METHODS: Women with a child aged 5 years or less (N = 190) completed an online survey measuring their exposure (availability and use) to 11 specific family-friendly work conditions, and their physical health, anxiety, and depression. The sample included women who were currently and recently working and with both formal and informal employment.
RESULTS: After accounting for potential confounders, women who used paid maternity leave have a lower likelihood of having anxiety symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Future research is needed to extend the findings from this study by over-sampling women who are informally employed and not currently working. Policy creation and development processes, including research and decision-making, should be led by and inclusive of women. For example, research funding could be allocated to 'lived experience' research that privileges the co-design of research with consumers. Based on these findings, the extent to which family-friendly work conditions fulfill their intent to improve the well-being for working women requires further critique.
AIM: This study aimed to explore the views of Palestinian women and healthcare providers regarding factors contributing to the mistreatment of women during childbirth at childbirth facilities in the West Bank, Palestine.
METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted in the West Bank, Palestine, from February 2019 to April 2019. In-depth interviews were conducted with six Palestinian women and five healthcare providers. Consent was obtained individually from each participant, and the interviews ranged from 40 to 50min. Data collection was continued until thematic saturation was reached. Open-ended questions were asked during interviews. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data collected from the interviews.
RESULTS: Four themes were identified with regards to the women and healthcare providers' views about factors contributing to the mistreatment of women during childbirth in the West Bank, Palestine: limitation in childbirth facilities, factors within the healthcare providers, the women themselves, and barriers within the community.
DISCUSSION: Mistreatment of women during childbirth may occur due to the limitations of resources and staff in childbirth facilities. Some women also justified the mistreatment, and certain characteristics of the women were believed to be the factors for mistreatment.
CONCLUSION: As the first known study of its kind in West Bank, the identified contributing factors especially the limitations of resources and staff are essential to provide good quality and respectful care at childbirth facilities.
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the perinatal mortality rate in Sana'a, Yemen and to identify risk factors for perinatal deaths.
METHODS: A community-based prospective cohort study was carried out between 2015 and 2016. Nine-hundred and eighty pregnant women were identified and followed up to 7 days following birth. A multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select participants from community households', residing in the five districts of the Sana'a City, Yemen.
RESULTS: Total of 952 pregnant women were tracked up to 7 days after giving birth. The perinatal mortality rate, the stillbirth rate and the early neonatal mortality rate, were 89.3 per 1000, 46.2 per 1000 and 45.2 per 1000, respectively. In multivariable analysis older age (35+ years) of mothers at birth (Relative Risk=2.83), teenage mothers' age at first pregnancy (<18 years) (Relative Risk=1.57), primipara mothers (Relative Risk=1.90), multi-nuclear family (Relative Risk=1.74), mud house (Relative Risk=2.02), mothers who underwent female genital mutilation (Relative Risk=2.92) and mothers who chewed khat (Relative Risk=1.60) were factors associated with increased risk of perinatal death, whereas a positive mother's tetanus vaccination status (Relative Risk=0.49) were significant protective factors against perinatal deaths.
CONCLUSION: Rates of perinatal mortality were higher in Sana'a City compared to perinatal mortality at the national level estimated by World Health Organization. It is imperative there be sustainable interventions in order to improve the country's maternal and newborn health.
Aim: The objectives of this study were to determine the leptospirosis seroprevalence and to identify the predominant infecting serovars among cattle.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 420 cattle from six randomly selected districts in Kelantan was conducted. A serological test using the microscopic agglutination test was conducted in the Institute of Medical Research with a cutoff titer for seropositivity of ≥1:100.
Results: The overall prevalence of leptospirosis seropositivity among cattle in this study was 81.7% (95% confidence interval: 63.5, 80.1). The most common reaction obtained with the sera tested was from the serovar Sarawak with 78.8%.
Conclusion: A high seroprevalence of leptospiral antibodies was found among cattle in Northeastern Malaysia. These findings urge that more studies are required to determine the reasons for the high seroprevalence among the cattle along with its transmission and pathogenicity of the local serovar Sarawak.