Reference intervals (RIs) of serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) were determined in 402 healthy pregnant women by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique after partitioning them into three trimesters. The reference population was chosen from a study population of 610 pregnant females by applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The assays were done using proper quality control measures. RIs were calculated from the central 95 % of the distribution of TSH and fT4 values located between the lower reference limit of 2.5 percentile and upper reference limit of 97.5 percentile value 0.90 confidence intervals for the upper and lower reference limits were also determined. The reference intervals for TSH were 0.25-3.35 μIU/ml for the first trimester; 0.78-4.96 μIU/ml for the second trimester and 0.89-4.6 μIU/ml for the third trimester. Similarly, the reference intervals for fT4 for first, second and third trimesters were 0.64-2.0, 0.53-2.12 and 0.64-1.98 ng/dl respectively. The values thus obtained varied from those provided by the kit literature. In comparison to our derived reference intervals, the reference data from kit manufacturer under-diagnosed both subclinical hypo- and hyper-thyroidism within our pregnant reference population.

No abstract

Objectives To test the application of a clinical definition of life-threatening complications in pregnancy and determine the level of near miss maternal morbidity and mortality. Methods A prospective observational study was conducted in the obstetrics and gynaecology department, NRS Medical College, Kolkata, India, to identify life-threatening complications using a modification of the Mantel's criteria. The main outcome measures were validity of identification criteria, main causes and incidence of lifethreatening complications in pregnancy, maternal near miss: case fatality rates, morbidity-mortality index and use rate of effective interventions. Results In total, 177 maternal near miss and 23 maternal deaths were identified in the screened 4400 women. The

No abstract