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Objectives: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that can cause severe complications and adverse fetal/maternal outcomes. We aimed to estimate the annual economic impact of incorporating Elecsys® sFlt-1/PlGF PE ratio, which measures soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 and placental growth factor, into routine clinical practice in Argentina to aid diagnosis of PE and hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets syndrome from second trimester onward in pregnancies with clinical suspicion of PE., Methods: A decision tree was used to estimate annual economic impact on the Argentine health system as a whole, including relevant costs associated with diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment from initial presentation of clinically suspected PE to delivery. Annual costs of a standard-of-care scenario and a scenario including PE ratio (reference year 2021) were analyzed., Results: The economic model estimated that using the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio would enable the overall health system to save ∼$6987 million Argentine pesos annually (95% confidence interval $12 045-$2952 million), a 39.1% reduction in costs versus standard of care, mainly due to reduced hospitalizations of women with suspected PE. The economic impact calculation estimated net annual savings of approximately $80 504 Argentine pesos per patient with suspected PE. Based on the assumed uncertainty of the parameters, the likelihood the intervention would be cost saving was 100% for the considered scenarios., Conclusion: Our analysis suggests that the implementation of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in women with suspected PE in Argentina will enable the health system to achieve significant savings, contributing to more efficient clinical management through the likely reduction of unnecessary hospitalizations, depending on assumptions. Results rest on the payers' ability to recover savings generated by the intervention., (Copyright © 2022 International Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hypertensive disorders are a major cause of maternal mortality. In Latin America and the Caribbean, pre-eclampsia accounts for approximately one in every four maternal deaths. The World Health Organization recommends calcium supplementation during pregnancy for the prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in locations where dietary calcium intake is low. Calcium intake in Argentina is reported to be below WHO recommended levels; however, calcium intake from supplements and water has not been fully evaluated. The objective of this study was to evaluate calcium intake from supplements and water in a group of pregnant women., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a maternity hospital in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Questionnaires were verbally administered to women attending a routine antenatal care visit. Participants were 18 years of age or older and in their third trimester of pregnancy. Participants were first interviewed to evaluate nutritional supplement consumption and a subgroup was invited to undergo a 24-hour dietary recall., Results: 137 women meeting inclusion criteria consented to participate. The average participant age was 27 years (SD±5.9), and all resided in an urban setting. None of the subjects took calcium supplements specifically, although 24 (17%) recalled taking supplements or antacids which contributed to their calcium intake. Mean calcium intake was 663 mg SD±389 for those women completing the 24-hour dietary recall,. This value increased to 706 mg SD±387 upon considering water intake and measuring chemical composition of water from the areas where women lived at the time of the interview and was further increased to 719 mg (SD±392) when calcium from supplements was taken into consideration., Conclusions: None of the subjects were consuming calcium supplements. Taking into account the low calcium intake in this population, diverse strategies would be required to comply with recommendations.

Objective: To survey the opinion of critical care providers in Argentina about abortion., Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to critical care providers attending the 20th National Critical Care Conference in Argentina., Results: 149 of 1800 attendees completed the questionnaire, 69 (46.3%) of whom were members of the Argentine Society of Critical Care (ASCC). 122 (81.9%) supported abortion decriminalization in situations excluded from the current law; 142 (95.3%) in cases of congenital defects; 133 (89.3%) in cases of rape; 115 (77.2%) when women's mental health is at risk; 71 (47.7%) when pregnancy is unintended; and 61 (40.9%) for economic reasons. 126 (84.6%) supported abortion in public and private institutions, and 121 (81.2%) before 12 weeks of pregnancy. Variables independently associated with abortion support among female versus male attendees were abortion to preserve women's mental health (OR 4.47; 95% CI, 1.61-12.42; P=0.004) and abortion before 12 weeks of pregnancy (OR 3.93; 95% CI, 1.29-11.94; P=0.015). Abortion at request was independently associated with ASCC membership (OR 2.63; 95% CI, 1.07-6.45; P=0.034)., Conclusion: Critical care providers would support abortion in situations excluded from the current abortion law and before 12 weeks of pregnancy, in both public and private hospitals., (Copyright © 2011 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)