Search

β-thalassemia is a prevalent disease in Iran. The adverse effects of anemia on placental and neonatal outcomes have previously been shown. Women require additional iron during pregnancy and the anemia of women with β-thalassemia may adversely affect the neonatal outcome and increase placental abnormalities. In this study, we compared the placental histology and neonatal outcomes among pregnant women with and without β-thalassemia. In this population-based cross-sectional study, 144 pregnant women with β-thalassemia minor (case group) were compared to 142 women without β-thalassemia (control group). Women with singleton pregnancies over 20 weeks of gestation without pregnancy complications, anemia, collagen vascular diseases, or other hemoglobinopathies, all referred to hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences from March 2014 to February 2016, were included and maternal and neonatal data were extracted from medical records. After child birth, the placenta was evaluated for macroscopic and microscopic changes. The frequency of LBW was significantly higher in the case group than that in the control group (19.7 vs. 9.7%, respectively) (p =.019). Six in the case group had gross abnormalities of placenta, while none in the control group (p =.03) and the case group had a higher frequency of chorangiosis, calcification, syncytial knot, and umbilical cord position (p <.05). As β-thalassemia increases the chance of placental abnormalities, it is recommended to pay more attention to patients with β-thalassemia, especially during pregnancy, to prevent placental and neonatal adverse outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chorangiosis is a vascular change involving the terminal chorionic villi in the placenta. It results from longstanding, low-grade hypoxia in the placental tissue, and is associated with such conditions as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), diabetes, and gestational hypertension in pregnancy. Chorangiosis rarely occurs in normal pregnancies. However, its prevalence is 5-7% of all placentas from infants admitted to newborn intensive care units. The present study was aimed at determining the association of chorangiosis with pregnancy complications and perinatal outcomes.Methods: In this case-control study, 308 chorangiosis cases were compared with 308 controls (with other diagnoses in pathology) in terms of maternal, placental, prenatal, and neonatal characteristics derived from the medical records of participants retrospectively. R and SPSS version 22 software tools were used, and the statistical significance level was considered 0.05 for all the tests.Results: Preeclampsia, diabetes mellitus, maternal hemoglobin, maternal hematocrit, C/S, oligohydramnios, fetal anomaly, dead neonates, NICU admissions were significantly higher in the chorangiosis group OR = 1.6, 3.98, 1.68, 1.92, 2.1, 4.47, 4.22, 2.9, 2.46, respectively (p-value< 0.05 for all). Amniotic fluid index, birth weight, cord PH amount, 1st, and 5th Apgar score was lower in the chorangiosis group OR = 0.31, 1, 0.097, 0.83, 0.85, respectively (p-value< 0.05 for all). Moreover, fundal placenta, retro placental hemorrhage, perivillous fibrin deposition, calcification, and acute chorioamnionitis were higher in the chorangiosis group OR = 2.1, 11.8, 19.96, 4.05, and 6.38 respectively, (p-value< 0.05). There was a high agreement between the two pathologists, and the power of the study was estimated at 99%.Conclusion: Although chorangiosis is an uncommon condition, it is associated with a higher incidence of perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it should be considered an important clinical sign of adverse pregnancy outcomes and should be reported in the pathology evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Polyhydramnios can lead to maternal and fetal complication during pregnancy, so diagnosis and management can decrease some perinatal complications.Study Design: One hundred and fourteen singleton pregnancies were diagnosed with idiopathic polyhydramnios in the department of obstetrics at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences between January 2000 and January 2011 and were compared with 114 normal pregnancies for their perinatal outcome. Variables include birth weight, admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), meconium staining, respiratory distress, fetal death, neonatal death, low 1-min and 5-min APGAR score, primary cesarean section (C/S), preterm delivery (<37 weeks), postpartum bleeding, and placental abruption.Results: Low birth weight (<2500 g), macrosoma (>4000 g), NICU admission, fetal distress, fetal death, lower 1-min and 5-min APGAR score, preterm delivery, and neonatal death were higher in the case group. However, meconium staining and malpresentation were equal between the two groups. Except for prematurity and 1-min and 5-min APGAR scores, there were no significant differences in other maternal or fetal outcomes considering the severity of polyhydramnios.Conclusion: Idiopathic polyhydramnios should be considered as a high-risk pregnancy that warrants close surveillance. More studies should be done to detect the best time and interval of fetal surveillance in these patients. Chromosomal and torch studies can determine the definite cause of polyhydramnios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Preterm labor and birth are associated with several neonatal complications including respiratory distress syndrome and intraventricular hemorrhage. Differentiating true and false labor pain is a dilemma to obstetricians. Objective: To elucidate the role of cervical length measurement in prediction of birth in pregnant women with threatened preterm labor. Materials and Methods: In this double blind randomized clinical trial, 120 women with gestational age <34 wk who presented painful uterine contractions randomly assigned to undergo measurement of cervical length. Patients were registered in the hospital and a unit number was given. Based on the unit numbers, patients were randomly assigned to two groups using a computerized random digit generator. All participants were managed accordingly (n=65) or to receive tocolysis as planned (n=55). Tocolysis was prescribed when cervical length was <15 mm while those with cervical length =15 mm were managed expectantly. Delivery within 7 days of the presentation was the primary outcome. Results: This RCT showed in case group, 78.9% of patient with cervical length <15 mm were delivered within 7 days and only 21.1% of them maintained their pregnancy. Of those with cervical length =15 mm, only 15.2% were delivered within the study period and the rest (84.8%) maintained their pregnancy (p<0.001). Conclusion: "Our results indicate that in women who presented preterm labor symptoms, cervical length measurement will result in decreased unnecessary tocolytic treatment. Women with cervical length =15mm should not receive tocolysis, however, withholding corticosteroid therapy in these patients needs further evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Preeclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy without any specific reasons that characterized by high blood pressure and large amounts of protein in the urine. This disorder is caused by multiple factors and finding any factor related to this disorder can help on time prevention of this disease. Objective: In this study, serum levels of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) were evaluated in preeclampsia women and compared to normotensive ones. Materials and Methods: This was a case-control study on 40 normotensive pregnancies as controls, 20 mild and 20 severe preeclamptic pregnancies as case groups. The women were studied in their 28-40 weeks of pregnancy. Simple random sampling was done based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and data were collected by blood sampling. Results: The serum Ca levels of 4.96±0.62, 4.89±0.34, 5.05±0.35 mg/dL, Mg levels of 0.83±0.08, 0.85±0.11, 0.84±0.11 mg/dL and Zn levels of 107.55±22.74, 108.00±22.40, 107.50±22.30 mg/dL was detected in normotensive, mild and severe preeclampsia, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that there were no significant differences between three groups in serum levels of Ca (p=0.6), Mg (p=0.827) and Zn (p=0.997). Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the assessment of serum Ca, Mg and Zn levels does not have any clinical values for predicting and/or managing of preeclampsia. However, based on the positive relationship between serum Ca and Mg concentration and the severity of preeclampsia in this study, we recommend assessment of serum levels of these two mineral elements as indices of the severity of preeclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]