Objective To explore if the academic exposure to legal abortion affects the knowledge and attitudes of medical students. Method To asses this relationship, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were performed. We analyzed a medical student cohort enrolled in gynecology and obstetrics at two accredited universities in Bucaramanga, Colombia during the second half of 2011. Students were invited to participate in two anonymous surveys. One survey was conducted in the first three weeks of the semester, and the second was done in the last three weeks. A quantitative approach was taken by a group interview of two random groups of participants. One group was composed of medical students of gynecology and obstetrics (fourth year of medicine), and the other group was composed of medical students in their last year (internal medical students). Results The items pregnancy with risk to the mother´s life, or affected by a non-viable fetal malformation, or result of rape were recognized and accepted. 46% of the participants changed their attitude about legal abortion at the end of the semester. Three out of every four participants changed their attitude to accept the decriminalized conditions, while one out of every four people had the opposite change of opinion. Medical student´s don´t believe that general practitioners are trained to advice patients in these cases. Conclusions Educating and training general practitioners in issues related to legal abortion may decrease the risk of inadequate medical assessment in cases of legal abortion.

Introducción. La preeclampsia es la primera causa de muerte materna directa en Colombia y la segunda a nivel mundial. El desarrollo de estrategias de predicción y prevención puede disminuir las complicaciones y secuelas ocasionadas por dicha enfermedad. El Doppler de arterias uterinas entre las semanas 11 y 13+6 como prueba independiente o en combinación con factores maternos o pruebas bioquímicas permite tasas de detección de preeclampsia temprana ≥ 90% a partir de la implementación de distintos cribados. La validez de dicha prueba diagnóstica presenta una sensibilidad del 47.8% y especificidad del 92.1% para la detección de preeclampsia temprana; con una sensibilidad del 26.4% y especificidad del 93.4% para predecir preeclampsia en cualquier etapa. División de los temas tratados. En esta revisión de tema se aborda la utilidad de esta medición, se habla de la realización de la técnica en cuestión y, por último, se revisan las herramientas estandarizadas que están disponibles en la actualidad junto con su accesibilidad y precisión. Conclusiones. La evidencia empírica que respalda la validez de las herramientas disponibles hoy en día para el tamizaje de preeclampsia a través de la evaluación por ultrasonografía Doppler de las arterias uterinas es significativa. Al ser Colombia un país que presenta una prevalencia alta de preeclampsia, conocer la utilidad de esta medición favorece una vigilancia temprana y oportuna, lo que disminuye los posibles desenlaces desfavorables para las maternas.

Objective In 2006, Colombia decriminalized legal and voluntary interruption of pregnancy (LVIP) in situations in which: the mother's life or health is in danger, fetal life-threatening malformations exist, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape, non-consensual artificial insemination, or incest. Difficulties reported in the introduction of this practice are related to the attitudes of doctors. Obstetricians usually are the doctors who attend these cases; an assessment of their attitudes regarding this situation was performed. Method Qualitative and quantitative. Self-administered anonymous questionnaires were applied to obstetricians who work in Bucaramanga on January 30th, 2012. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were performed to a sub-sample of that population. Results Important deficits in the knowledge of legislation regarding LVIP and conscientious objection were found. Life-threatening for mother, and fetal life-threatening malformations were the most accepted items and the most likely to be practiced. The item "pregnancy secondary to rape" although accepted, was the most objected to for reasons of conscience. Conclusion The inclusion of gestational age as a regulatory criterion for LVIP was suggested by the interviewees. The joint effect of the findings mentioned above, and both administrative and logistic difficulties in the Colombian health system constitute barriers for patients in cases of LVIP.

Enabling patients to enjoy their sexuality responsibly and improving opportunities for access to better economic options may reduce induced abortions in the population living in Bucaramanga's northern commune.