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Abstract Objective To evaluate the usefulness of transvaginal ultrasonography in the determination of the risk of preterm delivery and chorioamnionitis in pregnancies affected by preterm premature rupture of membranes preterm premature rupture of membranes. Design One hundred and one singleton pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes were included in this prospective study over a 3-year period. Patients underwent cervical length measurement by transvaginal ultrasonography at admission and thereafter, in the absence of chorioamnionitis, were managed expectantly. Results The median time interval between admission and delivery (latency period) was 48 h. A cervical length of less than 20 mm was associated with a significant risk of early delivery (mean latency period was 59.44 ± 159.93 h vs. 240.94 ± 364.67; P < 0.05). There was no relation between cervical length and occurrence of chorioamnionitis or neonatal sepsis. Conclusions These data suggest that the use of transvaginal ultrasonography for cervical length measurement during preterm premature rupture of membranes may predict an early delivery but cannot anticipate the risk of chorioamnionitis or neonatal sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about the case of a 25-year-old woman diagnosed with right diaphragmatic hernia and hydrops.

Investigates the pathology of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) and pyloric atresia. Accounts on the types of EB; Relationship between EB and pyloric atresia; Accounts on the hereditary characteristic of EB; Role of hemidesmosomal plaque on EB expression.

Objective: To compare the short- and mid-term outcomes of preterm twins by chorionicity of pregnancy.Design: Prospective nationwide population-based EPIPAGE-2 cohort study.Setting: 546 maternity units in France, between March and December 2011.Population: A total of 1700 twin neonates born between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation.Methods: The association of chorionicity with outcomes was analysed using multivariate regression models.Main Outcome Measures: First, survival at 2-year corrected age with or without neurosensory impairment, and second, perinatal, short-, and mid-term outcomes (survival at discharge, survival at discharge without severe morbidity) were described and compared by chorionicity.Results: In the EPIPAGE 2 cohort, 1700 preterm births were included (850 twin pregnancies). In all, 1220 (71.8%) were from dichorionic (DC) pregnancies and 480 from monochorionic (MC) pregnancies. MC pregnancies had three times more medical terminations than DC pregnancies (1.67 versus 0.51%, P < 0.001), whereas there were three times more stillbirths in MC than in DC pregnancies (10.09 versus 3.78%, P < 0.001). Both twins were alive at birth in 86.6% of DC pregnancies compared with 80.0% among MC pregnancies (P = 0.008). No significant difference according to chorionicity was found regarding neonatal deaths and morbidities. Likewise, for children born earlier than 32 weeks, the 2-year follow-up neurodevelopmental results were not significantly different between DC and MC twins.Conclusions: This study confirms that MC pregnancies have a higher risk of adverse outcomes. However, the outcomes among preterm twins admitted to neonatal intensive care units are similar irrespective of chorionicity.Tweetable Abstract: Monochorionicity is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes, but outcomes for preterm twins are comparable irrespective of their chorionicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-digestible milk oligosaccharides were proposed as receptor decoys for pathogens and as nutrients for beneficial gut commensals like bifidobacteria. Bovine milk contains oligosaccharides, some of which are structurally identical or similar to those found in human milk. In a controlled, randomized double-blinded clinical trial we tested the effect of feeding a formula supplemented with a mixture of bovine milk-derived oligosaccharides ( BMOS) generated from whey permeate, containing galacto-oligosaccharides and 3'- and 6'-sialyllactose, and the probiotic B ifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis ( B . lactis) strain CNCM I-3446. Breastfed infants served as reference group. Compared with a non-supplemented control formula, the test formula showed a similar tolerability and supported a similar growth in healthy newborns followed for 12 weeks. The control, but not the test group, differed from the breast-fed reference group by a higher faecal pH and a significantly higher diversity of the faecal microbiota. In the test group the probiotic B . lactis increased by 100-fold in the stool and was detected in all supplemented infants. BMOS stimulated a marked shift to a bifidobacterium-dominated faecal microbiota via increases in endogenous bifidobacteria ( B . longum, B . breve, B . bifidum, B . pseudocatenulatum). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]