Leila Katz

Postpartum dexamethasone for women with hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of postpartum dexamethasone in patients with hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome. STUDY DESIGN A prospective, randomized, double-blind trial was conducted in which 105 women with HELLP syndrome were enrolled and assigned randomly to treatment or placebo groups following delivery. Duration of hospital stay, maternal morbidity, and laboratory and clinical parameters were evaluated. RESULTS There was no difference in maternal morbidity or mortality between the 2 groups. There was also no difference in duration of hospitalization and the need for rescue scheme or the use of blood products between groups. Linear model adjustments showed no significant difference between groups with respect to the pattern of platelet count recovery, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, hemoglobin, or diuresis. CONCLUSION These findings do not support the use of dexamethasone in the puerperium for recovery of patients with HELLP syndrome.

Morbidade materna grave em UTI obstétrica no Recife, região nordeste do Brasil

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate patients admitted with near miss maternal mortality criteria to an Obstetric ICU. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a study conducted in an Obstetric ICU of IMIP (Recife, Pernambuco), from February 2003 to February 2007, from which 291 patients with near miss criteria or severe maternal morbidity were selected. Data concerning cause of admission, time of admission related to delivery, age, parity, education, prenatal care, associated clinical conditions, gestational age at admission and delivery, diagnosis, complications and procedures as well as length of ICU stay were collected. RESULTS: The most common reasons of admission were hypertensive disorders (78.4%), haemorrhage (25.4%) and infection (16.5%). The great majority of patients was admitted after delivery (80.4%) and transferred from other units. Patient age ranged from 12 to 44 years, median of parity was 1 and prenatal care was absent in 9.9% of cases. Cesarean section was the mode of delivery in 68.4%. Medical conditions were present in 18.7% of the patients, 37% required blood product transfusions, 10.8% vasoactive infusions, 9.1% mechanical ventilation and 13.4% a central line. Eclampsia was present in 38.8 % of the patients, hemorrhagic shock in 27.1%, renal failure in 11.7%, and pulmonary edema in 9.1% and respiratory failure in 6.5%. CONCLUSION: Patients classified as near miss maternal mortality constitute an important group admitted to an Obstetric ICU. Better information about these patients is fundamental to improve care and prevent maternal mortality.

Perfil das admissões em uma unidade de terapia intensiva obstétrica de uma maternidade brasileira

OBJECTIVES: to describe a three-year experience with obstetric Intensive Care Units (ICU), a unit allowing obstetricians to continue to care for critically ill obstetrics patients. METHODS: the study evaluated all admissions (933) to the Obstetric ICU, in the Instituto Materno Infantil Prof. Fernando Figueira (IMIP), from September 2002 to February 2005. Age, parity, diagnosis, admission time, diagnosis during ICU stay, associated complications, invasive procedures utilized, and final outcome were analyzed. RESULTS: hypertension (87%), obstetric hemorrhage (4.9%) and obstetric infection (2.1%) were the major cause of the admissions analyzed. Mean age was 25 years, 65% of the patients delivered by cesarean-section. Anemia was a very common finding (58.4%). Other diagnoses were renal insufficiency, thromboembolic disease, cardiac disease, acute pulmonary edema, sepsis, and hemorrhagic shock. Of the 814 patients with pregnancy-associated hypertension 65% had severe pre-ecclampsia, 16% mild pre-ecclampsia, and 11% ecclampsia. HELLP syndrome was found in 46%. Mechanical ventilation was necessary in 3.6% and hemotransfusion in 17% of the patients. Mean stay was five day (1 a 41) days. Death occurred in 2.4% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: the rate of deaths was low. An obstetric ICU managed by obstetricians could be a feasible way of dealing with maternal mortality.

Factors associated with severe maternal morbidity and near miss in the São Francisco Valley, Brazil: a retrospective, cohort study

BackgroundMaternal mortality remains a major public health issue worldwide, with persistent high rates prevailing principally in underdeveloped countries. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors for severe maternal morbidity and near miss (SMM/NM) in pregnant and postpartum women at the maternity ward of the Dom Malan Hospital, Petrolina, in northeastern Brazil.MethodsA retrospective, cohort study was conducted to evaluate the sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics of the women. Patients who remained hospitalized at the end of the study period were excluded. Risk ratios (RR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated as a measure of relative risk. Hierarchical multiple logistic regression was also performed. Two-tailed p-values were used for all the tests and the significance level adopted was 5%.ResultsA total of 2,291 pregnant or postpartum women receiving care between May and August, 2011 were included. The frequencies of severe maternal morbidity and near miss were 17.5% and 1.0%, respectively. Following multivariate analysis, the factors that remained significantly associated with an increased risk of SMM/NM were a Cesarean section in the current pregnancy (OR: 2.6; 95% CI: 2.0 – 3.3), clinical comorbidities (OR: 3.4; 95% CI: 2.5 – 4.4), having attended fewer than six prenatal visits (OR: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.69) and the presence of the third delay (i.e. delay in receiving care at the health facility) (OR: 13.3; 95% CI: 6.7 – 26.4).ConclusionsThe risk of SMM/NM was greater in women who had been submitted to a Cesarean section in the current pregnancy, in the presence of clinical comorbidities, fewer prenatal visits and when the third delay was present. All these factors could be minimized by initiating a broad debate on healthcare policies, introducing preventive measures and improving the training of the professionals and services providing obstetric care.

Fatores associados à recorrência da gravidez na adolescência em uma maternidade escola: estudo caso-controle

Recorrencia da gravidez na adolescencia e uma situacao frequente, sendo considerada como um fator agravante tanto para o aumento da morbidade materna e fetal quanto para aumento de problemas sociais. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar fatores associados a recorrencia de gravidez em adolescentes. Realizou-se estudo caso-controle com puerperas, incluindo 90 adolescentes com mais de uma gravidez (caso) e 90 adultas, mulheres que tiveram uma gestacao na adolescencia, mas que nao recorreram (controle). Para analise estatistica, utilizou-se regressao logistica hierarquizada, com nivel de significância de 5%. Os fatores que permaneceram associados a recorrencia da gravidez na adolescencia foram: coitarca < 15 anos, idade da primeira gestacao < 16 anos, mudanca de parceiro, nao cuidar dos filhos e renda familiar < um salario minimo. A recorrencia de gravidez na adolescencia foi associada especialmente a fatores reprodutivos e socioeconomicos. A mudanca de parceiro foi fator de protecao. No puerperio de adolescentes, devem ser intensificados os cuidados para que seja evitada a recorrencia.Repeat teen pregnancy is a frequent issue and is considered an aggravating factor for increased maternal and fetal morbidity and social problems. The aim of the study was to identify factors associated with repeat teen pregnancy. A case-control study was conducted in 90 postpartum adolescents with more than one pregnancy (cases) and 90 adult women with a history of only one pregnancy during adolescence (controls). Statistical analysis used hierarchical logistic regression with 5% significance. Early sexual initiation (< 15 years), early age at first pregnancy (< 16 years), not raising the children themselves, and low family income (< one minimum wage) were associated with repeat teenage pregnancy, while partner change was inversely associated. Repeat teen pregnancy was mainly associated with reproductive and socioeconomic factors. Partner change appeared as a protective factor. Measures should be adopted during the postpartum period of teenage mothers in order to avoid repeat pregnancy.

COHELLP: collaborative randomized controlled trial on corticosteroids in HELLP syndrome

BackgroundHemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome is one of the most severe forms of preeclampsia and aggravates both maternal and perinatal prognosis. The systematic review available in Cochrane Library compared corticosteroid (dexamethasone, betamethasone, or prednisolone) given during pregnancy, just after delivery or in the postnatal period, or both before and after birth, with placebo or no treatment. Those receiving steroids showed significantly greater improvement in platelet counts which was greater for those receiving dexamethasone than those receiving betamethasone. There was no clear evidence of any effect of corticosteroids on substantive clinical outcomes. These benefits appear to be greater in Class I HELLP syndrome.ObjectivesTo determine the effectiveness of dexamethasone for accelerating postpartum recovery in patients with Class I HELLP syndrome in a multicenter randomized controlled trial.Methods/DesignThe study is a triple blind randomized controlled trial including women with class I HELLP syndrome, and exclusion criteria were dexamethasone use in the last 15 days before diagnosis of HELLP syndrome; chronic use of corticosteroids; chronic diseases that alter laboratory parameters of HELLP Syndrome, such as chronic liver disease or purpura, patients unable to consent (coma or critical clinical condition) and without accompanying persons that may consent to study participation.Eligible patients will be invited to participate and those who agree will be included in the study and receive placebo or dexamethasone according to a random list of numbers and subjects will receive the study medication every 12 hours for two days.During the study the women will be subject to strict control of blood pressure and urine output. Laboratory tests will be performed at regular intervals during treatment and 24 hours and 48 hours after its suspension. If worsening of clinical or laboratory variables is observed, a rescue scheme of dexamethasone will be administrated. This proposal has already obtained approval of the local Institutional Review Board of the coordinating center (IMIP, Recife, Brazil), all other participating centers and of the National Council for Ethics in Research (CONEP) of the Brazilian Ministry of Health.Trial RegistrationClinical Trials Register under the numberNCT00711841.

Uterine Artery Doppler in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy and Postnatal Outcome of Patients with Severe Preeclampsia

Objectives: To assess uterine artery Doppler velocimetry performed in the third trimester of pregnancy in women with severe preeclampsia as a predictor of adverse postpartum outcome. Methods: A cohort study including 154 women, conducted in a teaching hospital in Recife, Brazil. Uterine artery Doppler was performed at admission to hospital and postpartum outcome was evaluated. Results: High-resistance uterine artery Doppler was predictive of prolonged hospitalization and of being discharged from hospital under antihypertensive medication. No other correlation with maternal complications was found. Conclusion: High-resistance uterine artery Doppler in the third trimester of pregnancy is able to predict adverse postpartum outcome.

Applying the Maternal Near Miss Approach for the Evaluation of Quality of Obstetric Care: A Worked Example from a Multicenter Surveillance Study

Objective. To assess quality of care of women with severe maternal morbidity and to identify associated factors. Method. This is a national multicenter cross-sectional study performing surveillance for severe maternal morbidity, using the World Health Organization criteria. The expected number of maternal deaths was calculated with the maternal severity index (MSI) based on the severity of complication, and the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for each center was estimated. Analyses on the adequacy of care were performed. Results. 17 hospitals were classified as providing adequate and 10 as nonadequate care. Besides almost twofold increase in maternal mortality ratio, the main factors associated with nonadequate performance were geographic difficulty in accessing health services (P < 0.001), delays related to quality of medical care (P = 0.012), absence of blood derivatives (P = 0.013), difficulties of communication between health services (P = 0.004), and any delay during the whole process (P = 0.039). Conclusions. This is an example of how evaluation of the performance of health services is possible, using a benchmarking tool specific to Obstetrics. In this study the MSI was a useful tool for identifying differences in maternal mortality ratios and factors associated with nonadequate performance of care.

Titrated oral misoprostol solution versus vaginal misoprostol for labor induction

To determine the efficacy and safety of a titrated oral misoprostol solution compared with vaginal misoprostol tablets for labor induction.

Maternal outcomes according to mode of delivery in women with severe preeclampsia: a cohort study

Abstract Objective: To determine the association between mode of delivery and maternal complications in patients with severe preeclampsia. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted with 500 pregnant women with severe preeclampsia. The mode of delivery, vaginal or caesarean section, was considered the exposure, while the postpartum maternal complications and severe maternal morbidity were the outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the adjusted risk and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of maternal morbidity. Results: Labour was spontaneous in 22.0% and induced in 28.2%, while 49.8% had an elective caesarean section. Ninety-five (67.4%) of the patients in whom labour was induced delivered vaginally. Total Caesarean rate was 68.2%. The risk of severe maternal morbidity was significantly greater in patients submitted to Caesarean section (54.0% versus 32.7%) irrespective of the presence of labour. Factors that remained associated with severe maternal morbidity following multivariate analysis were a diagnosis of HELLP syndrome after delivery (OR = 3.73; 95% CI: 1.55–9.88) and having a caesarean (OR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.52–4.57). Conclusions: Caesareans are often performed in patients with severe preeclampsia and are associated with significant postpartum maternal morbidity. Induction of labour should be considered a feasible option in these patients.