Tenilson Amaral Oliveira

Obstetric and perinatal aspects in patients with congenital heart diseases

The benefits of surgical treatment for patients with congenital heart disease in relation to pregnancy are still controversial. We studied 48 pregnant women (mean age = 25 years) with surgically-corrected congenital heart diseases (Group 1). This included 15 cyanotic diseases: Fallots tetralogy (11 cases); Ebsteins anomaly (2 cases); transposition of the great arteries (1 case); and double outlet of the right ventricle (1 case). We compared them to 52 pregnant women (mean age = 26 years) with untreated congenital heart diseases, which included 11 cases of Eisenmengers syndrome (Group 2). Group 2 showed a higher incidence of maternal death (12 vs. 0 percent; p = 0.01), perinatal mortality (15 vs. 0 percent; p = 0.01) and prematurity (32 vs. 7 percent; p = 0.01). Spontaneous abortion (4 vs. 10 percent), Caesarean deliveries (48 vs. 66 percent) or growth retardation (13 vs. 28 percent) did not present any significant differences between these groups. Surgical treatment in patients with heart diseases is associated with a better maternal and fetal prognosis. Therefore, surgery must be considered when counseling patients with congenital heart diseases.

Detection of fetal fibronectin in twin pregnancies in relation to gestational age

CONTEXT The presence of fetal fibronectin in the cervix or vagina has been investigated as a possible marker for the risk of preterm birth. Fetal fibronectin in cervical fluid can provide direct evidence of pathologic changes at the interface of fetal and maternal tissues. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the presence of fetal fibronectin as a predictor of premature delivery in twin pregnancies in relation to gestational age. DESIGN Accuracy study. SETTING University referral unit. PARTICIPANTS 52 pregnant women with twin pregnancies and gestational age of between 24 and 34 weeks. MAIN MEASUREMENTS Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and relative risk ratios of the correlation between fetal fibronectin and preterm birth before 34 and 37 weeks using an immediate-reading membrane test on cervicovaginal secretions obtained from participants. RESULT The sensitivity varied between 66.7% and 85.7%, whereas the specificity was from 58.3% to 81.8% according to gestational age at the time of sampling. The relative risk of spontaneous preterm birth after a positive fetal fibronectin test, as compared with a negative fetal fibronectin test, rose from 2.8 at 24-26 weeks to 4.1 at 27-30 weeks. Analyses of the risk of delivery before 34 weeks were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION Fetal fibronectin in the cervicovaginal secretions of patients with twin pregnancies is a useful tool for the early identification of twin pregnancies likely to deliver before 37 weeks. However, the clinical value of the fibronectin test is limited because of low indices for prediction of delivery before 34 weeks. The best period for performing the fetal fibronectin test in twin pregnancies to predict preterm delivery is between 27 and 30 weeks.

Eficácia de dinoprostone e misoprostol para indução do trabalho de parto em nulíparas

PURPOSE: to determine the efficacy and safety of dinoprostone and misoprostol for the induction of vaginal childbirth, with or without the use of oxytocin in nulliparous women. METHODS: in this retrospective observational study, 238 patients were subjected to the induction of delivery from January 2008 to February 2010 with the use of misoprostol 25 mcg by the vaginal route or a pessary containing 10 mg of dinoprostone. A total of 184 patients were selected, with the following characteristics: nulliparous, gestational age of 37-42 weeks, singleton pregnancies, cephalic presentation, intact membranes, and Bishop score < 3. Obstetric and neonatal data were analyzed and compared between groups. The Student t-test, chi-square test and Fishers exact test were used for statistical analysis, with the level of significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: the rate of vaginal childbirth did not differ significantly in patients who used misoprostol and dinoprostone (43.2% versus 50%; p = 0.35, respectively). The ripening of cervix was higher in the group treated with misoprostol (87.3% versus 75.6%, p=0.04). The use of oxytocin was necessary in 58.8% of the misoprostol group and 57.3% in the dinoprostone group after the ripening of cervix. Failed induction was the primary indication of caesarean section delivery in both groups, with no significant difference between them. Fetal and maternal adverse events, such as tachysystole and Apgar scores were similar. CONCLUSION: dinoprostone and misoprostol are both effective for vaginal childbirth induction, although they need to be combined with oxytocin. They showed a similar safety profile, with misoprostol being more efficient regarding cervical ripening.

Polimorfismo do receptor de progesterona como fator de risco para o parto prematuro

PURPOSE to investigate the association between gene polymorphism of the progesterone receptor (PROGINS) and the risk of premature birth. METHODS In this case-control study, 57 women with previous premature delivery (Case Group) and 57 patients with delivery at term in the current pregnancy and no history of preterm delivery (Control Group) were selected. A 10 mL amount of peripheral blood was collected by venipuncture and genomic DNA was extracted followed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) under specific conditions for this polymorphism and 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. The bands were visualized with an ultraviolet light transilluminator. Genotype and allele PROGINS frequencies were compared between the two groups by the χ2 test, with the level of significance set at value p < 0.05. The Odds Ratio (OR) was also used, with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS PROGINS genotypic frequencies were 75.4% T1/T1, 22.8% T1/T2 and 1.8% T2/T2 in the Group with Preterm Delivery and 80.7% T1/T1, 19.3% T1/T2 and 0% T2/T2 in the term Delivery Group. There were no differences between groups when genotype and allele frequencies were analyzed: p = 0.4 (OR = 0.7) and p = 0.4 (OR = 0.7). CONCLUSIONS the present study suggests that the presence of PROGINS polymorphism in our population does not constitute a risk factor for premature birth.

Perinatal Outcomes in Pregnant Women Users of Illegal Drugs

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perinatal outcomes in pregnant women who use illicit drugs. Methods A retrospective observational study of patients who, at the time of delivery, were sent to or who spontaneously sought a public maternity hospital in the eastern area of São Paulo city. We compared the perinatal outcomes of two distinct groups of pregnant women - illicit drugs users and non-users - that gave birth in the same period and analyzed the obstetric and neonatal variables. We used Students t-test to calculate the averages among the groups, and the Chi-square test or Fishers exact test to compare categorical data from each group. Results We analyzed 166 women (83 users and 83 non-users) in both groups with a mean of age of 26 years. Ninety-five percent of the drug users would use crack or pure cocaine alone or associated with other psychoactive substances during pregnancy. Approximately half of the users group made no prenatal visit, compared with 2.4% in the non-users group (p < 0.001). Low birth weight (2,620 g versus 3,333 g on average, p < 0.001) and maternal syphilis (15.7% versus 0%, p < 0.001) were associated with the use of these illicit drugs. Conclusions The use of illicit drugs, mainly crack cocaine, represents an important perinatal risk. Any medical intervention in this population should combine adherence to prenatal care with strategies for reducing maternal exposure to illicit drugs.

Primary umbilical endometriosis: excision and neo-omphaloplasty

Introduction: Umbilical primary endometriosis is a rare condition that affects women of childbearing age. Spontaneous umbilical endometriosis presents lump in the navel, cyclic pain, discreet local bleeding during menstruation, with no history of previous surgery. The treatment is block excision of the lesion and umbilical cord with edges margin to avoid recurrence and immediate umbilical reconstruction. Methods: We describe the surgical technique for circle excision of the umbilical endometrioma and neo-omphaloplasty in one stage. Conclusion: The possibility of umbilical endometriosis should be considered when the presence of nodules and umbilical bleeding, even without previous surgery. The surgical technique provides total remission of the lesion and an umbilical natural scar. ■ ABSTRACT