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Contraceptive counselling is essential in women with chronic disease, though it is frequently overlooked. We aimed to assess practices and awareness in contraceptive counselling in hospital physicians caring for reproductive age women with chronic disease.A questionnaire was distributed in April 2017 to physicians from 16 medical specialties in a tertiary care hospital in Portugal. Statistical analysis performed using Microsoft Office ExcelTwo-hundred physicians participated in the survey: 59.5% were female, 55% under 35 years-old and 48.5% were residents. Only 26.5% practiced in surgical specialties. Two-thirds consistently inquired about the use of contraception. Most referred patients to Family Planning services or performed contraceptive counselling when pregnancy posed significant health risks (89.0%), when prescribing teratogenic medication (79.5%) or drugs with potential interaction with contraceptives (75.0%). Lack of training in contraception was the main reason for not referring patients to Family Planning services. While 83% considered counselling very important, only 5% had recently undergone training and 12.5% felt knowledgeable enough to perform it. Only 12.5% were aware of the institution's Family Planning resources. Female gender, non-surgical specialty, age over 35 years-old and over 10 years since specialisation were positively associated with awareness.Most physicians addressed contraceptive management in women with comorbidities, but adequate training is lacking. Our results highlight the importance of communication between health care providers to achieve an adequate and multidisciplinary approach to reproductive and general health goals.

Highlights • Spontaneous heterotopic pregnancy occurs in 1/30000 pregnancies, with an allocation to the ovary on solely 2.3% of cases. • Heterotopic pregnancy diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion and systematic gynecological ultrasound examination. • Correct diagnosis is extremely important to provide the best care while preserving the intrauterine pregnancy., Spontaneous heterotopic pregnancies occur in about 1/30000 pregnancies, with the ovarian subtype comprising 2.3% of the total. We report the case of a healthy 32-year-old woman, gravida 4, para 3, who presented to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain. Two weeks earlier, pelvic ultrasound had revealed a 6-week intrauterine pregnancy. She was hemodynamically stable, but had rebound tenderness on the right iliac fossa. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed an evolutive intrauterine pregnancy with a gestational age (GA) of 8 weeks, with a synchronous evolutive adnexal pregnancy of the same GA and some free fluid in the pouch of Douglas. She underwent an urgent laparoscopy which showed an intact gestational sac containing an embryo on the right ovary associated with mild hemoperitoneum. An ovarian wedge resection was performed to preserve ovarian tissue. The intrauterine pregnancy had no complications and the patient delivered vaginally at term. Heterotopic pregnancy is potentially life-threatening. Despite being extremely rare after natural conception, and even more so in the absence of major risk factors, it should be considered in any pregnant woman with abdominal pain. A high index of suspicion is important for a prompt diagnosis, selection of the appropriate surgical treatment and successful obstetric outcomes.

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) during pregnancy is an acquired autoimmune disease present in 1-2 of every 1000 pregnancies. Thrombopoietin (TPO)-mimetic drugs, such as eltrombopag, have been successfully used for treatment of ITP during pregnancy, but studies regarding its safety during gestation are lacking. A 33-year-old nulliparous woman with a history of chronic ITP, presented at the emergency department with petechiae, epistaxis, bruises, conjunctival effusions and a platelet count of 3×109/L at 25 weeks gestation. Her pregnancy had been uneventful until then. She was unresponsive to a therapeutic escalade of corticosteroids, azathioprine and intravenous immunoglobulin (IV Ig) so, at 27 weeks, eltrombopag was initiated, and analytical and clinical improvement was achieved. Labor was induced at 37 weeks due to preeclampsia, culminating in a vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery. A healthy female newborn weighing 2400g was born. After delivery, both had normal platelet counts and remained clinically stable through follow-up.