PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G J Ratten

Publications and source records attributed to G J Ratten.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Medicolegal matters involving a major obstetric and gynaecological teaching hospital.

Review of medicolegal files held by the Royal Women's Hospital. Melbourne confirms that during the last 25 years there has been a marked increase in the number of claims for compensation brought by patients who believe that the care they received was inadequate; thus 4 claims for compensation were received during the first 5 years of the study period and 29 claims in the last 5 years. Complaints about service provision resulted in a claim for compensation in 29.7% of cases in which the dissatisfied client was represented by a legal firm and in 6.25% of cases where the initial approach was made through the Health Services Commission. One half of all claims for compensation were received in response to perceived complications of birth, surgery or treatment of a premature baby.

Delivery, Obstetric↗
PubMed1992

Organization and early results of a shared antenatal care programme.

The organization and function of a public hospital based shared antenatal care programme is described. The programme has proved to be popular with pregnant women and local practitioners and currently 24% of public antenatal patients attending the hospital are cared for in this way. The study presents the results of management of 1,000 consecutive low risk patients whose antenatal care was shared between hospital doctors at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne and local practitioners. Two hundred and twenty patients did not complete the programme because of social factors, medical diseases or pregnancy complications. The 780 patients who did complete the programme had a lower Caesarean section rate than the overall hospital population (8.3% compared with 18.5%) and a lower perinatal mortality rate (6.4 compared with 20.5 per 1,000 births). It is essential that patients are carefully assessed at their hospital booking visit before embarking on such a programme. Equally, careful assessment by local practitioners is important as abnormalities such as essential hypertension may be overlooked at the initial hospital assessment or may arise between the hospital visits.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1989

Cardiorespiratory collapse and pulmonary oedema due to intravascular absorption of prostaglandin F2 alpha administered extraamniotically for midtrimester termination of pregnancy.

A case of severe reaction to extraamniotically administered prostaglandin F2 alpha, with cardiorespiratory collapse and pulmonary oedema necessitating transfer to an intensive care unit, is presented. Attention is drawn to the profound haemodynamic effects of systemically administered prostaglandin, and the need for caution and ready availability of facilities for resuscitation when this potent substance is administered. Treatment for the effects of intravascular absorption of prostaglandin F2 alpha is discussed.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗
PubMed1988

Amniotic fluid embolism--2 case reports and a review of maternal deaths from this cause in Australia.

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a dramatic, rare and frequently lethal complication of pregnancy. Perusal of the National Health and Medical Research Council reports on Maternal Deaths in the Commonwealth of Australia for the years 1964-1984 (1-7) shows that there have been 1,193 maternal deaths in this 21-year period, of which 54 (4.5%) were due to AFE. This paper presents data regarding these deaths and also describes 2 cases of AFE which occurred at Caesarean section performed for placenta praevia, one of which was lethal.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Changes in obstetric practice in our time.

In the years since 1939 there has been a marked change in the nature and results of obstetric practice at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne. The noteworthy changes have been a reduction in the number of maternal deaths (from 12.2 per 1,000 in the 1940's to 0.2 per 1,000 in the 1980's), especially those due to septic abortion, and an increase in the Caesarean section rate (from 2% to 14%). The increase in the operative delivery rate has been matched by a decrease in mortality in patients thus delivered, the maternal and perinatal mortality rates changing from 5.5 and 88.9 per 1,000 to 0 and 7.6 per 1,000 respectively in the case of forceps delivery and from 24.7 and 162.5 per 1,000 to 0.15 and 10.6 per 1,000 respectively in the case of Caesarean delivery.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

"Prolonged pregnancy" after oral contraceptive therapy.

A prospective study of 151 patients whose last menstrual period was an oral contraceptive induced haemorrhage indicated that, in many, ovulation was considerably delayed and that the calculated due date of delivery was therefore erroneous; prolonged pregnancy (more than 42 weeks gestation) occurred in 37.4% and, in 9%, gestation exceed 44 weeks.

Contraceptives, Oral↗
PubMed1979

The effect of termination of pregnancy on maturity of subsequent pregnancy.

Therapeutic termination of pregnancy performed during the first trimester was associated with a statistically significant increase in the incidence of second trimester abortion and of premature labour in the next pregnancy. In a series of 520 patients who had previously been aborted 8.1% suffered a mid-trimester abortion in their next pregnancy and 8.6% had premature onset of labour (compared to 2.4% (P less than 0.001) and 4.4% (P less than 0.01) respectively in a control series). The incidence of incompetence of the cervix after termination of pregnancy was 4.4%.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1979

Acute polyhydramnios--a complication of monozygous twin pregnancy.

Eight patients with acute polyhydramnios were encountered in 31 103 pregnancies, an incidence of 1 in 3888. All patients with acute polyhydramnios had monozygous twin pregnancies and 14 of the 16 infants were normal. The condition occurred in the second trimester and usually ended in premature delivery within a few days. The perinatal mortality was 100 per cent and accounted for 14.9 per cent of the perinatal mortality in twins.

Female↗
PubMed1978

The use of drugs in pregnancy and labour.

The possibility of harmful effects from drug therapy during pregnancy should be constantly before the clinican. The ability of drugs to pass from mother to babe through the placenta must be remembered as errors in the administration of drugs during pregnancy can have disastrous consequences for the mother and/or baby.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1975

The effect of fetal and placental weight at birth on weight during early childhood.

A study of children whose birth weights or placental weights were above the 90th or below the 10th percentile for gestational age indicated that bigness at birth tends to be an innate quality, as the majority of those who were large at birth remained oversized. The small at birth are not all destined to remain diminutive, as the children in this category attained a normal distribution curve for weight during the first year of life. Thus smallness at birth may represent intrauterine nutritional deprivation and be overcome with normal access to calories. The influence of the placenta on infant size is temporary and is modified by extrauterine nutrition. Thus, although there was a direct relationship between birth weight and placental weight, the distribution of weight of children with either large or small placentas was not significantly different from the expected normal distribution at one year of age.

Birth Weight↗