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Presymptomatic prediction of preeclampsia with angiogenic factors, in high risk pregnant women

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the value of placental growth factor (PLGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and sFlt-1/PLGF ratio, in predicting symptomatic preeclampsia (PE). Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was carried out on 71 high risk preeclamptic women cohort. All of them had normal blood pressure level (≤140/90 mmHg) at the time of enrolment, 26.8 ± 1.5 weeks. Maternal blood was collected and plasma was stored in a freezer at −80 °C. PE was defined according to the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group Criteria. Accuracy of angiogenic factors in predicting PE was evaluated using Receiver-operating characteristics. Results: Maternal plasma concentrations of PLGF and sFlt-1 were able to predict PE (0.90, p < 001; 0.78, p = 0.003, area under the curve, respectively) but the sFlt-1/PLGF ratio presented the best prediction potential over the others (0.95, area under the curve, p < 0.001). Conclusion: All angiogenesis factors were effective biomarkers in predicting PE during the second trimester, before the clinical onset of PE.

Epidemiologic profile, survival, and maternal prognosis factors among women at an obstetric intensive care unit

To identify the epidemiologic profile, maternal survival, and prognosis factors that might affect survival rates in the obstetric intensive care unit (ICU).

Correlação entre o exame clínico, a mamografia e a ultra-sonografia com o exame anatomopatológico na determinação do tamanho tumoral no câncer de mama

PURPOSE: to evaluate which method is the best to determine pre-surgically the size of breast cancer: clinical examination, mammography or ultrasonography, using as a reference the anatomopathological exam. METHODS: this study has included 184 patients with palpable-or-not breast lesions, detected by mammography and ultrasonography, that were submitted to surgical resection of the tumor, with histopathological diagnosis of breast cancer. The same examiner evaluated clinically the largest tumoral diameter, through clinical examination, mammography and ultrasonography, and the measurements obtained by each method were correlated with the maximum diameter obtained by the anatomopathological exam. The comparative analysis has been done by Pearsons correlation coefficient (r). RESULTS: Pearsons correlation coefficient between the anatomopathological and the clinical exams was 0.8; between the anatomopathological exam and the mammography, 0.7; and between anatomopathological exam and ultrasonography 0.7 (p<0.05). Pearsons correlation coefficients among the methods evaluated were also calculated and r=0.7 was obtained between clinical exam and mammography, r=0.8 between clinical examination and utrasonograhy, and r=0.8 between mammography and ultrasonography (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: clinical examination, mammography and ultrasonography have presented high correlation with the anatomopathological measures, besides high correlations among themselves, what seems to show that they may be used as equivalent methods in the pre-surgical evaluation of the breast tumoral size. Nevertheless, due to specific limitations of each method, clinical examination, mammography and ultrasonography should be seen as complementary to each other, in order to obtain a more accurate measurement of the breast cancer tumor.

Determining the volume of blood required for the correction of foetal anaemia by intrauterine transfusion during pregnancies of Rh isoimmunised women

BACKGROUND Severe anaemic foetuses of Rhesus (Rh) isoimmunised mothers are usually treated by intrauterine transfusion (IUT). It is helpful to determine the volume of blood necessary to raise the concentration of haemoglobin by 1.0 g/dL in response to intrauterine transfusions. METHODS In this cross-sectional, observational study we evaluated 107 first IUT for the correction of anaemia caused by haemolysis triggered by maternal Rh immunisation. The concentration of foetal haemoglobin was determined in umbilical cord blood before and after the IUT. The variation in foetal concentration of haemoglobin after transfusion was compared between groups of hydropic and non-hydropic foetuses, between groups of foetuses with different degrees of anaemia and with groups of gestational age less than or more than 28 weeks. The t-test for averages and ANOVA were used to compare average differences among the groups. p values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS Fifty-five (61.4%) foetuses were found to be anaemic while hydrops was observed in 40 (44%) at the time of the IUT. The volume of red blood cell concentrate infused varied from 5 to 90 mL, with 11.2±1.5 mL being necessary to raise the circulating concentration of haemoglobin by 1.0 g/dL. The foetal response was not influenced significantly by either the degree of foetal anaemia (p=0.56) or the presence of hydrops (p=0.17). The foetuses with a gestational age of 28 weeks or less required a smaller volume of red blood cell concentrate than those with a gestational age of more than 28 weeks (9.3±5.4 mL and 13.4±4.8 mL, respectively; p<0.0001) in order to raise their concentration of circulating haemoglobin by 1.0 g/dL. CONCLUSION The volume of red blood cell concentrate necessary to correct anaemia in pregnancies complicated by Rh isoimmunisation must be considered carefully, since the response to the infusion of blood is peculiar in extremely premature infants. Hydrops and the degree of anaemia were not determinants of the change in the final concentration of circulating haemoglobin following the blood transfusion.

Risk Prediction of Cardiovascular Complications in Pregnant Women With Heart Disease.

Background Heart disease in pregnancy is the leading cause of non- obstetric maternal death. Few Brazilian studies have assessed the impact of heart disease during pregnancy. Objective To determine the risk factors associated with cardiovascular and neonatal complications. Methods We evaluated 132 pregnant women with heart disease at a High-Risk Pregnancy outpatient clinic, from January 2005 to July 2010. Variables that could influence the maternal-fetal outcome were selected: age, parity, smoking, etiology and severity of the disease, previous cardiac complications, cyanosis, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class > II, left ventricular dysfunction/obstruction, arrhythmia, drug treatment change, time of prenatal care beginning and number of prenatal visits. The maternal-fetal risk index, Cardiac Disease in Pregnancy (CARPREG), was retrospectively calculated at the beginning of prenatal care, and patients were stratified in its three risk categories. Results Rheumatic heart disease was the most prevalent (62.12%). The most frequent complications were heart failure (11.36%) and arrhythmias (6.82%). Factors associated with cardiovascular complications on multivariate analysis were: drug treatment change (p = 0.009), previous cardiac complications (p = 0.013) and NYHA class III on the first prenatal visit (p = 0.041). The cardiovascular complication rates were 15.22% in CARPREG 0, 16.42% in CARPREG 1, and 42.11% in CARPREG > 1, differing from those estimated by the original index: 5%, 27% and 75%, respectively. This sample had 26.36% of prematurity. Conclusion The cardiovascular complication risk factors in this population were drug treatment change, previous cardiac complications and NYHA class III at the beginning of prenatal care. The CARPREG index used in this sample composed mainly of patients with rheumatic heart disease overestimated the number of events in pregnant women classified as CARPREG 1 and > 1, and underestimated it in low-risk patients (CARPREG 0).

Blood volume calculation required for the correction of fetal anemia in pregnant women with alloimmunization

PURPOSE to obtain an equation to estimate the volume of red blood cells concentrate to be infused to correct anemia in fetuses of pregnant women with Rh factor isoimmunization, based in parameters obtained along the cordocentesis previous to intrauterine transfusion. METHODS a transversal study analyzing 89 intrauterine transfusions to correct anemia in 48 fetuses followed-up in the Centro de Medicina Fetal do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade de Minas Gerais. The median gestational age at the cordocentesis was 29 weeks and the average number of procedures was 2.1. Fetal hemoglobin was assayed before and after cordocentesis, leading to the volume of transfused red blood cells concentrate. The determination of an equation to estimate the blood volume necessary to correct the fetal anemia was based in the blood volume necessary to raise the fetal hemoglobin in 1 g% (the difference between the final and the initial hemoglobin concentration divided by the transfused volume) and in the volume of the amount necessary to reach 14 g%, in the multiple regression analysis. RESULTS the concentration of pre-transfusion hemoglobin varied between 2.3 and 15.7 g%. The prevalence of fetal anemia (Hb<10 g%) was 52%. The regression equation obtained in the determination of blood volume necessary to reach the concentration of 14 g% of Hb was: transfusion volume (mL)=18.2 - 13.4 x pre- intrauterine transfusion hemoglobin + 6.0 x gestational age in weeks. This equation was statistically significant (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS the study has shown that it is possible to estimate the transfusion volume necessary to correct fetal anemia, based on easily obtainable parameters: gestational age and level of pre-transfusion hemoglobin.

Avaliação de índices dopplerfluxométricos da veia cava inferior e do ducto venoso em fetos submetidos à transfusão intravascular

PURPOSE: to evaluate the effect of intravascular transfusion on ductus venosus and inferior vena cava Doppler ultrasound indexes (SV/CA) and to relate it to hemoglobin levels before transfusion. METHODS: this is a transversal prospective study. A total of 62 intravascular transfusions were performed in 27 fetuses from pregnancies with red blood cell isoimmunization. The 62 cases were divided into two groups: (1) fetuses with hemoglobin levels before transfusion £10 g/dL and (2) fetuses with hemoglobin levels before transfusion >10 g/dL. The SV/CA and CA/SV indexes were measured using color Doppler ultrasound 6 h before and 12 h after intravascular transfusion. The index values before and after transfusion in all 62 cases were compared. Thereafter we compared these indexes before and after transfusion regarding each group. The Wilcoxon test was used and the results were considered statiscally significant when p 10 g/dL (p=0.049), but the SV/CA index did not change in this group (p=0.086). CONCLUSION: venous Doppler study may be useful to understand fetal hemodynamic adjustment after intravascular transfusion. An increase in SV/CA without change in CA/SV after transfusion in anemic fetuses may be an important compensatory mechanism to increase intravascular volume. The increase in CA/SV index in fetuses with hemoglobin levels before transfusion <10 g/dL suggests a state of fetal hypervolemia.

Experimental model for endometriosis. Comparative histological study between the ectopic and eutopic endometrium

Thyrty-six rats werw implanted with endometrial squares (2 X 2mm) to the left parietal peritoneum and the right uterine horn was tied. The rats were mated for 20 days and then sacrificed. Topic and ectopic endometrial histological pattern were compared. There was a correlation between the histological pattern of the autografted endometrium and the eutopic endometrium im most rats, pregnant or not. This suggests that both responded in a similar way to the same endocrine stimuli. The experimental model for endometriosis admiting the histological correlation between the uterine endometrium and the ectopic is factible and it is easy to be repetead.

Diagnosis of Severe Fetal Anemia Based on Perinatal Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis of the Current Reference Values

Objectives. To compare current criteria for severe fetal anemia diagnosis. Methodology. A cohort study analyzed 105 alloimmunized fetuses that underwent cordocentesis due to risk of anemia. Concordance among the diagnostic criteria for severe fetal anemia, hemoglobin deficit >7 g/dL, hemoglobin deficit ≥5 g/dL, and hemoglobin concentration <0.55 MoM, was analyzed using Cohens Kappa index. Perinatal mortality, fetal hydrops, and fetal acidosis were used to discuss discordances. Results. There was fair concordance among the three criteria analyzed: 0.80 (Kappa index, IC 95%: 0.67 to 0.93) when comparing hemoglobin deficit >7.0 g/dL and hemoglobin concentration <0.55 MoM criteria, 0.63 (Kappa index, IC 95%: 0.47 to 0.69) when comparing hemoglobin deficit ≥5.0 g/dL and hemoglobin deficit >7.0 g/dL reference, and 0.77 (Kappa index, IC 95%: 0.64 to 0.90) when comparing hemoglobin deficit≥5.0 g/dL and hemoglobin concentration <0.55 MoM standards. Eighteen cases were classified differently depending on the criteria used. The cut-off point of hemoglobin deficit ≥5 g/dL was the best criterion to discriminate fetuses with poor perinatal outcome in our study. Conclusions. Relevant discordances in classification of severe fetal anemia were pointed out. Some criteria may underestimate the real gravity of fetal anemia.