Objectives To determine the effects of adding an oxytocin infusion to bolus oxytocin on blood loss at elective caesarean section.Design Double blind, placebo controlled, randomised trial, conducted from February 2008 to June 2010.Setting Five maternity hospitals in the Republic of Ireland.Participants 2069 women booked for elective caesarean section at term with a singleton pregnancy. We excluded women with placenta praevia, thrombocytopenia, coagulopathies, previous major obstetric haemorrhage (>1000 mL), or known fibroids; women receiving anticoagulant treatment; those who did not understand English; and those who were younger than 18 years.Intervention Intervention group: intravenous slow 5 IU oxytocin bolus over 1 minute and additional 40 IU oxytocin infusion in 500 mL of 0.9% saline solution over 4 hours (bolus and infusion). Placebo group: 5 IU oxytocin bolus over 1 minute and 500 mL of 0.9% saline solution over 4 hours (placebo infusion) (bolus only).Main outcomes Major obstetric haemorrhage (blood loss >1000 mL) and need for an additional uterotonic agent.Results We found no difference in the occurrence of major obstetric haemorrhage between the groups (bolus and infusion 15.7% (158/1007) v bolus only 16.0% (159/994), adjusted odds ratio 0.98, 95% confidence intervals 0.77 to 1.25, P=0.86). The need for an additional uterotonic agent in the bolus and infusion group was lower than that in the bolus only group (12.2% (126/1033) v 18.4% (189/1025), 0.61, 0.48 to 0.78, P<0.001). Women were less likely to have a major obstetric haemorrhage in the bolus and infusion group than in the bolus only group if the obstetrician was junior rather than senior (0.57, 0.35 to 0.92, P=0.02). ConclusionThe addition of an oxytocin infusion after caesarean delivery reduces the need for additional uterotonic agents but does not affect the overall occurrence of major obstetric haemorrhage.Trial Registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN17813715.

These data outline the obstetric factors linked to preterm delivery within a recent Irish urban obstetric population. Spontaneous idiopathic preterm labor was the principle causative factor in 43% of all preterm deliveries, and represents the proportion of women for whom future therapeutic intervention may be of benefit.

A condition resembling pili torti of man is reported in seven kittens. However, in the latter there were associated systemic signs terminating in death. No report of the condition occurring in animals other than man has been found in a literature search.

A retrospective audit was conducted at the Rotunda hospital, Dublin to assess the incidence of partial molar pregnancies and complete molar pregnancies over a 10-year period from the 1st of January 1997 to 31 of December 2006. Methods Records from the pathology department were accessed for the number of molar pregnancies from 1997 to 2006. Each pathology result was then retrieved to differentiate between complete moles and partial moles. The annual reports published by the hospital were used to obtain the number of deliveries and live births per year. Results The incidence of partial molar pregnancies at the Rotunda Hospital from 1997 to 2006 was 1 in 328 live births. The incidence of complete molar pregnancies from 1997 to 2006 was 1 in 1105 live births. The incidence of a molar pregnancy in the study period was 1:253. Conclusion The incidence of a molar pregnancy was estimated to be 1: 512 in 1993 and was 1: 253 in this study, indicating a significant rise. The incidence of complete and partial molar pregnancies has also doubled. The Rotunda hospital caters to a large proportion of Dublin's noncaucasian population which might account for an increase. But it is still possible that there is an over diagnosis of cases as diagnosis is only by histology and flow cytometry is not routinely performed in all cases.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine neonatal outcomes in preterm operative vaginal delivery given the current paucity of data available to guide clinicians. Study design: A retrospective review of 64 cases was conducted, and neonatal outcomes were compared to spontaneous vaginal deliveries in similar gestations. The primary outcomes studied were death and occurrence of intraventricular haemorrhage. Secondary outcomes included admission to NICU, Apgar < 3 at 5 min, ventilation requirement, jaundice requiring treatment, culture-proven sepsis and necrotising enterocolitis. The study was conducted in a stand-alone maternity unit of approximately 9000 deliveries per year. Results and conclusions:We concluded that although vacuum delivery is avoided in preterm infants, outcomes were similar to forceps deliveries of similar gestations.