BMC research notes
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Untreated bacteriuria during pregnancy has been shown to be associated with low birth-weight and premature delivery. Therefore, routine screening for bacteriuria is advocated. The decision about how to screen pregnant women for bacteriuria has always been a balance between the cost of screening versus the sensitivity and specificity. This study was designed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the rapid dipstick test to predict urinary tract infection in pregnancy against the gold standard urine culture. ⋯ This study revealed that the use of dipstick leukocyte esterase and nitrite for screening UTI particularly asymptomatic bacteriuria was associated with many false positive and negative results when it was compared against the gold standard culture method. The low sensitivity and positive predictive value of urine dipstick test proved that culture should be used for the diagnosis of UTI.
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To ensure optimal patient care, physicians must establish effective patient-physician relationships and thoughtfully incorporate their patients' perspectives into their counseling. Historically, these skills are acquired with increasing clinical experience. However, given increasing work-hour restrictions, OB/GYN residents have fewer opportunities to develop these skills. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if an interactive learning method is an effective tool by which to teach OB/GYN residents how to communicate with complicated patients. ⋯ Simulated patient exercises can be utilized in multiple arenas to teach OB/GYN residents communication skills, while simultaneously addressing their clinical knowledge deficits. Early implementation of such a curriculum in an OB/GYN residency will lay the foundation for the development of empathetic and culturally competent physicians.