AIM To compare perinatal and maternal outcomes in Tuzla Canton during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina with those before (1988-1991) and after (2000-2003) the war. METHODS We retrospectively collected data on a total of 59,707 liveborn infants and their mothers from the databases of Tuzla University Department for Gynecology and Obstetrics and Tuzla Institute for Public Health. Data on the number of live births, stillbirths, early neonatal deaths, causes of death, gestational age, and birth weights were collected. We also collected data on the number of medically unattended deliveries, examinations during pregnancy, preterm deliveries, and causes of maternal deaths. Perinatal and maternal outcomes were determined for each study period. RESULTS There were 23,194 live births in the prewar, 18,302 in the war, and 18,211 in the postwar period. Prewar perinatal mortality of 23.3 per 1000 live births increased to 25.8 per 1000 live births during the war (P<0.001), due to a significant increase in early neonatal mortality (10.3 per thousand before vs 15.1 per thousand after the war, P<0.001). After the war, both perinatal mortality (14.4 per thousand) and early neonatal mortality (6.6 per thousand) decreased (P<0.001 for both). The most frequent cause of early neonatal death during the war was prematurity (55.7%), with newborns most often dying within the first 24 hours after birth. During the war, there were more newborns with low birth weight (<2500 g), while term newborns had lower average body weight. Women underwent 2.4 examinations during pregnancy (5.4 before and 6.3 after the war, P<0.001 for both) and 75.9% had delivery attended by a health care professional (99.1% before and 99.8% after the war; P<0.001 for both). Maternal mortality rate of 65 per 100,000 deliveries during the war was significantly higher than that before (39 per 100,000 deliveries) and after (12 per 100,000 deliveries) the war (P<0.001 for both). CONCLUSION Perinatal and maternal mortality in Tuzla Canton were significantly higher during the war, mainly due to lower adequacy and accessibility of perinatal and maternal health care.

Inspired by anomalies which the standard scattering matrix pole-extraction procedures have produced in a mathematically well defined coupled-channel model, we have developed a new method based solely on the assumption of partial-wave analyticity. The new method is simple and appli-cable not only to theoretical predictions but to the empirical partial-wave data as well. Since the standard pole-extraction procedures turn out to be the lowest-order term of the proposed method the anomalies are understood and resolved.

AIM To evaluate pegylated interferon alpha2a (PegIFN-alpha2a) in Egyptian patients with HCV genotype 4, and the impact of pretreatment viral load, co-existent bilharziasis and histological liver changes on response rate. METHODS A total of 73 naive patients (61 with history of bilharziasis) with compensated chronic HCV genotype 4 were enrolled into: group A (38 patients) who received 180 mg PegIFN-alpha2a subcutaneously once weekly for a year and group B (35 patients) received IFN alpha-2a 3 MU 3 times weekly. Ribavirin was added to each regimen at a dose of 1200 mg. Patients were followed for 72 wk and sustained response was assessed. RESULTS Significant improvement in both end of treatment response (ETR) (P < 0.002) and sustained response (SR) (P < 0.05) was noted with pegylated interferon, where ETR was achieved in 29 (76.3%) and 14 patients (40%) in both groups respectively, and 25 patients in group A (65.8%) and 9 (25.7%) in group B could retain negative viraemia by the end of follow up period. Sustained virological response (SVR) showed a significant negative correlation with age and positive correlation with pretreatment inflammation in patients receiving PegIFN. Viral clearance after 3 mo of therapy was associated with high incidence of ETR and SR (P < 0.001), but without significant difference between both forms of interferon. Significant improvement in response was achieved in patients with high grade fibrosis (grade 3 and 4) with PegIFN-alpha2a, where SR was seen in 5 out of 13 patients in group A, but none in group B. There was no significant difference in response between bilharzial and non-bilharzial patients in both groups. In terms of safety and tolerability, neutropenia was the predominant side effect; both drugs were comparable. CONCLUSION PegIFN-alpha2a combined with ribavirin results in improvement in sustained response in HCV genotype 4, irrespective of history of bilharzial infestation.