Cervical treatments and preterm birth . . . and other stories

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and risk of preterm birth

Excisional procedures carried out for the biopsy and treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia increase the risk of preterm birth, according to a large study from the Netherlands (PLoS Med doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003665). The proportion of preterm birth in the control group of 30 000 pregnancies was 4.8%. This rose to 6.9% in women with untreated cervical disease, 9.5% in women who had been treated for cervical disease, and 15.6% in women who had had multiple treatments.

Computed tomography

It’s almost 50 years ago that computed tomography was first used in clinical practice.

The patient was a 41 year woman with a suspected frontal lobe tumour, admitted to …