BACKGROUND In April 2010, revised Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission guidelines were implemented in South Africa, advising fast-tracked lifelong highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiation at a higher CD4 count (≤350 cells per microliter). This study describes the impact of these changes on the management of pregnant women who initiated HAART at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town...

OBJECTIVE To determine the leading causes of perinatal deaths and to evaluate any changes, with the inclusion of placental histology. METHOD At perinatal mortality meetings, primary and final causes of death were assigned for the period 1 July 2006 - 30 June 2007. All singleton babies born to women residing in the metropolitan area serviced by Tygerberg Hospital were included in the prospecti...

A 25-year-old female was referred to the Haematology Unit at Tygerberg Hospital for further management of a rapidly expanding and large submandibular mass which on fine needle aspiration was suggestive of lymphoma (Figure 1). Five months earlier she had been diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and was confirmed to be HIV positive with a CD4 count of 17. She was placed on anti-retroviral (ARV)...

Currently in South Africa research into sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) is limited. The causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remain obscure despite full medico-legal investigations inclusive of autopsy, scene visit and ancillary studies. Viral infections play an important role as a multitude of respiratory viruses have been detected in autopsy specimens and are implicated in ...

Two different protocols for ovulation induction used in phase I of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) programme at Tygerberg Hospital are presented. Previous experience with gonadotrophins and clomiphene citrate was applied in the development of the protocols. By means of experience gained during ovulation induction it was possible to establish critical values for the parameters of follicle matur...