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The reliability of the Hybrid Capture II (HC-II; Digene, Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.) assay was tested in detecting 18 human Papillomavirus (HPV) types for the screening of cervical lesions. Cytology, HPV testing, colposcopy, and biopsy were used to monitor 204 women with normal smears at the first entry. The median follow-up was 15 months (range, 4-27 months). The primary endpoint was clinical progression defined as the presence of a cervical intraepithelial lesion at the biopsy. In the patient population of 204 HPV-infected women, 81 (39.7%) had a persistent HPV infection at two or three examinations with a final histologic diagnosis of 14 high-grade and 13 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) within 4 to 22 months. Women with regressive HPV infection did not develop any lesion during the same period. The evaluation of the viral load of high-risk HPV by the HC-II did not represent a sensitive approach to predict the persistence or the apparition of high-grade lesions. Thus, persistent high-risk HPV infection detected with HC-II represents a reliable tool to select populations at risk for the development of high-grade cervical lesions.

Objective: To determine if the presence of cells having a DNA content > 5c and occurring at very low frequency is related to breast cancer outcome., Study Design: Feulgen-stained imprints of fresh tumors used for routine standard DNA image cytometry were reanalyzed, with the aim of detecting hyperploid (> 5c) cells or minor stemlines. Specially adapted software was used., Results: The new DNA analysis showed discordance of 47.3% with standard DNA cytometry. Minor stemline or rarely occurring 5c exceeding cells were found. These were not detected by the first DNA analysis. The presence of both DNA hyperploid cells occurring as rare events and a DNA hyperploid stemline was related to outcome., Conclusion: The detection of DNA hyperploid cells, even in very small numbers, appears essential to outcome, particularly in diploid or single DNA aneuploid breast cancers.

Objective: To assess efficacy and speed of action of a monodose sertaconazole vaginal suppository administered as a single treatment or combined with sertaconazole cream applied to the vulvar area., Methods: This prospective, multicentric, randomised open study was conducted on 77 women with vulvovaginal candidiasis confirmed by mycological examination. They were either treated with one sertaconazole monodose vaginal suppository only (group O) or treated with the suppository combined with sertaconazole cream applied to the vulvar area for 7 days (group OC). The patients who were not clinically cured at D7 received a second phase of treatment., Results: Clinical cure rates were higher in group OC than in group O at D7 (76% versus 68%), and D14 (100% versus 80%). The efficacy on symptoms was faster in group OC, with 78% of the patients relieved of pruritus as early as D2 versus 61% in group O, although these differences were not significant. Clinical local tolerance was very good, with 95% of patients not experiencing any local side effects., Conclusion: When candidiasis is both vulvar and vaginal, the combination of sertaconazole cream with a monodose sertaconazole vaginal suppository tends to improve clinical cure at D7 and D14 and to relieve more patients as early as D2 than the vaginal suppository used as a single treatment.

We report a rare case of congenital toxoplasmosis transmitted by an immunocompetent woman infected before conception. Active toxoplasmosis was suspected due to persistent lymphadenitis with specific IgM, IgA, IgE antibodies. Prenatal diagnosis based on amniocentesis and fetal blood sampling at 24 weeks' amenorrhoea was positive on amniotic fluid, and fetal infection was confirmed after termination. In our opinion such cases need the same monitoring as when seroconversion occurs during the first trimester. A pregnancy-free interval of six to nine months is recommended after proven patent toxoplasmosis seroconversion.

A commercial HPV detection test, Hybrid Capture (HC), designed to detect 14 HPV types divided into high-risk and low-risk groups, has been evaluated. A total of 1064 scrapes from 1028 unselected women attending routine cytologic screening were tested and results were compared with those of classic cytologic screening and cervical biopsies. The reliability of the test was also evaluated on 38 fresh conization samples. HPV DNA was detected in 108 women (10.5%), including 90 infected by a high-risk HPV (8.8%); 25 high-grade lesions were detected histologically, and high-risk HPV was found in 16 of these 25 women (64%), and in 27 (71%) of the 38 conization samples. The overall sensitivity of HC in detecting high-grade SIL on cervical scrapes and conization samples was 71.2%, while its positive predictive value was 17.8%. Classic cytologic screening appeared to be the most sensitive method (84%) for detecting high-grade SIL, with a positive predictive value of 91.3%. The lower sensitivity of HC limits its use for screening high-grade lesions on a large scale, even though it may be useful for reducing cytologically false-negative results. Moreover, the quantitative approach provided by the HC assay for assessment of the viral load cannot clearly distinguish among cases with or without high-grade lesions.

We report two cases of maternal obstetrical paralysis by injuries to the sacral plexus (lumbosacral trunk). This nervous lesion is rare and occurs more often in young small primigravidae, carrying a large fetus, during a prolonged labor and a delivery requiring midforceps. The symptoms appear usually a few hours after delivery: paresthesias of the leg and the foot as well as weakness and possible footdrop (the paralysis may be mild or severe). The different mechanisms involved are inspected. The prognosis of this lesion is good, the patients recover usually within a period of three months. The treatment appears to be physiotherapy.

We report three cases of pulmonary edema associated with prolonged intravenous tocolytic therapy with beta 2-adrenergic agonists among patients with multiple pregnancies. Although beta 2-adrenergic agonists may have direct myocardial side-effects, the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms are mainly noncardiogenic. The most important one appears to be the fluid overload, related to amounts of fluids given intravenously and to direct result of beta-sympathomimetic therapy on renal excretion of sodium and water. Neonatal benefit of prolonged tocolytic therapy remains hypothetical. If this strategy is used, the prevention of cardiovascular adverse effects requires an intensive maternal supervision, especially in case of multiple pregnancy, the use of beta 2-adrenergic agonists in concentrated solution in order to reduce the amounts of fluids given intravenously, and the association with progesterone therapy which can reduce the infusion rate and the duration of tocolytic therapy.

Cardio-vascular pathology with estroprogestatives have justified an evolution of oral contraceptives of which the essential steps are the decrease of the posology in ethinylestradiol and the adjustment of new progestatives. This has allowed a decrease of thromboembolic risk and an improvement in the metabolic tolerance. The author, after having established an inventory of the products which exist on the French market calls for the prescription and the supervision of an estroprogestative contraception as well as reminds a certain number of practical advices.

Objective: Preliminary evaluation of three-dimensional (3D) imaging for early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy., Study Design: Twelve asymptomatic patients before six weeks of amenorrhea and with no feature of intrauterine nor of ectopic pregnancy at traditional bidimensional ultrasonography were considered. Laparoscopy showed ectopic pregnancy in 9 cases., Results: 3D transvaginal ultrasonography preceding laparoscopy showed small ectopic gestational sac in 4 cases. Moreover the fallopian tube on the side of ectopic pregnancy could be imaged in all cases. This was possible because the fallopian tube was surrounded by a fine hypoechogenic border, an apparently specific feature which had not been reported previously., Conclusion: These preliminary data suggest that 3D ultrasonography is an effective procedure for early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in asymptomatic patients before six weeks of amenorrhea.

Objective: Evaluate the frequency and discuss the mechanisms and the prognostic value of sonographic anomalies observed during the surveillance of seroconversion for toxoplasmosis during pregnancy., Methods: Cases of seroconversion during pregnancy were collected from 6 teams working with similar protocols. There were 2,168 seroconversions. We focused on ultrasound anomalies reported., Results: Ultrasound anomalies were reported in 48 cases including the 168 fetuses with proven contamination (fetal blood or amniotic fluid sample), i.e. 2.2% (48 cases out of 2,168) of the seroconversions and 28% (48 cases out of 168) of the contaminated fetuses. There were multiple lesions in 44% of the cases. Brain calcifications had been found in utero in 44% of the newborns with such anomalies. No case of microcephalia was reported. Isolated hepatomegalia (4 cases) was not an indication for medical abortion. Isolated ascitis can regress after antiparasite treatment (2 cases). Medical abortions were performed in 51% of the cases (34 cases out of 66) on the basis of ultrasound findings., Conclusion: Ultrasound examination is reliable but can only detect late, constituted and often irreversible lesions. Nevertheless, this examination can help in deciding on medical abortion.

Prune belly syndrome was diagnosed early in the antenatal period. Renal function was evaluated on the basis of bladder puncture results performed at 18 weeks gestation due to urethral atresia, suggesting a possible pathogenesis mechanism. Recent pathogenic data and the relationship with antenatal diagnosis are discussed.

To compare multiple and singleton pregnancies in the treatment of threatened preterm delivery with prolonged intravenous ritodrine, 32 women with multiple pregnancy (26 twins, 6 triplets, 70 fetuses, 30.3 +/- 3.5 weeks) and 51 women with singleton pregnancy (31.3 +/- 2.6 weeks) admitted for threatened preterm delivery without rupture of the membranes were the subjects of a retrospective study of obstetric data, perinatal outcome and maternal adverse effects. Significance was assessed by chi 2 test and Student's t test. Multiple pregnancies were associated with a marked increase in the duration of tocolysis (17.2 +/- 17.3 vs. 7.6 +/- 8.1 days, P < 0.01), incidence of delivery before 37 weeks (87.5 vs. 35.3%, P < 0.01) and incidence of maternal cardiovascular complications (34.4 vs. 4.0%, P < 0.01), including three cases of pulmonary edema. The incidences of delivery before 32 weeks (12.5 vs. 7.8%) and of neonatal death (2.9 vs. 0%) were not significantly different in the two groups. Multiple pregnancies dramatically increased the incidence of maternal adverse effects of prolonged intravenous ritodrine therapy. Neonatal benefit is questionable and was difficult to establish since it was not a randomized study.

Placenta percreta with bladder invasion is a rare complication of pregnancy, causing life-threatening hemorrhage. We report two further cases. In the second case we opted for a specific surgical guideline based on immediate ligature of both the hypogastric arteries before hysterectomy. This approach resulted in considerably less blood loss than is usually reported.

Some of the alternative treatments to avoid termination of pregnancy in cases where the fetus is affected by toxoplasmosis is to treat it as soon as the diagnosis has been made. The authors who already have experience of using pyrimethamine with sulfadoxoine (Fansidar) in the post-natal treatment of congenital infection, thought after reviewing the literature that this association of drugs would be harmless if applied during pregnancy. The principal risk that arises in the fetus is the teratogenicity of each of the components of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine and also their associations. In animals pyrimethamine can increase the frequency of cleft palates probably because of its antifolinic action but there is no formal proof that it is teratogenic in human beings. Furthermore, the theoretical risk of karnicerus in the new born using the Sulfonamide has not been demonstrated. In the mother the main but rare risk (1 in 75,000) seems to be for the production of severe skin lesions such as Lyell and Stevens-Johnson which could be brought about by sulfonamides, but not particularly sulfadoxine.

The authors report the results of an open multicentric study of 136 women treated by a combination of 35 micrograms ethinylestradiol and 2 mg cyproterone acetate for cutaneous manifestation of hyperandrogenism. No pregnancy occurred during the treatment of 12 months. Comparison between the last treated and non treated cycle showed a significant difference (p less than 0.001) in the severity of acne lesions regardless of their sites. General and gynaecological tolerance were excellent.

A case of a 23-year-old primigravida with a tumour of the left adrenal gland and a medullary thyroid carcinoma is reported. Her blood pressure remained at about 100/60 mmHg throughout pregnancy. She was scheduled for elective Caesarean section combined with removal of both adrenal glands. Anaesthesia was carried out using 10 micrograms.kg-1 alfentanil, 5 mg.kg-1 thiopentone, 1.5 mg.kg-1 succinylcholine and 0.5 vol % enflurane. A single hypertensive crisis (190/100 mmHg) occurred intraoperatively, during dissection of the left adrenal gland. This responded well to 1 mg.min-1 phentolamine. The postoperative course was uneventful for both the mother and the child. Total thyroidectomy with block dissection of the lymph nodes was to be carried out within three weeks after the Caesarean section. Only two similar cases of multiple endocrine neoplasia associated with pregnancy have previously been published.

The authors report 2 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis fortuitously diagnosed in 2 newborn infants aged 12 and 35 days respectively whose mothers had no anti-Toxoplasma antibodies detectable at the time of birth. These cases prompted us to carry out, over an 18 months' period, a systematic postnatal control of all pregnant women who were still seronegative at the time of delivery. This enabled us to detect 4 cases of perinatal maternal infection with Toxoplasma contamination in 2 neonates. In view of these results, and in order not to miss any maternal infection at the very end of pregnancy, it seems advisable to complete the control of seronegative women by taking a last blood sample about 30 days after they have given birth.

Echotomography and a caryotype were carried out on the liquor and at an interval of one week between the two, two series of hormone levels were also carried out on the liquor and on the peripheral venous blood of a molar triploid pregnancy diagnosed clinically. These results have been compared with those that are known to occur in hydatidiform mole, and in other case histories that have been published of embryonic mole. The histological appearance of the fetal gonads resembles that found in Klinefelter's syndrome. The tests carried out on the HLA systems of the parents and of the fetus favours a maternal origin for the extra chromosomal complement.

Vaginal smear cytology and hormonal tests were conducted in eleven patients in the natural menopause, before and after treatment with one capsule (100 mg) daily of veralipride alone for 20 days. Maturation of the vaginal epithelial cells unrelated to the degree of post-menopausal atrophy present was observed, without modification in plasma levels of gonadotropic LH, FSH and ovarian E2, E3 levels.

In 92,130 pregnancies followed between 1980 and 1987, 48 cases of hyperthyroidism were reported including 38 Grave's diseases, 5 toxic adenomas, 4 multinodules goiters. In comparing the results with those mentioned in the literature, a number of conclusions may be reached. In case of hyperthyroidism treated before the pregnancy or discovered at the beginning, there is, in every other case, an aggravation at the end of the first trimester, then a stabilization in the 2nd or 3rd trimester and finally an aggravation in the post-partum period. There is a high rate of abortions (35 p. cent), a delayed intra-uterine growth in half of the cases. The problem of the treatment is of paramount importance; there is no problem with Beta-blockers but the SAT are not without danger: risk of hypothyroidism and fetal goiter, but also risk of maternal hypothyroidism. From the 15th week, the doses should therefore be decreased, and sometimes the treatment discontinued and replaced with Beta-blockers. The best SAT drug during pregnancy is the propylthioracile which is the least likely to cross the fetal barrier. Surgery is only exceptionally indicated. In a woman who is cured from her Grave's disease, recurrences are always possible, and also fetal hyperthyroidism caused by crossing of thyreostimulins immunoglobins, even in case of maternal euthyroidism.

More than 8000 samples (sera, cord blood, CSF, etc.) from patients who had, or were likely to have, toxoplasmosis were studied by the CIP-ELIFA technique. The first stage in this technique is immunoelectrodiffusion on a microporous cellulose acetate membrane. In the second stage, immunodetection and isotypic characterization of the precipitating systems are rapidly carried out by immunofiltration with anti-IgG, IgM, IgA or IgE-labelled antibodies (enzyme-linked immunofiltration assay or ELIFA). Several samples are jointly laid out on the same membrane for compared immunological profiles (CIP). When applied to the mother-foetus relationship in toxoplasmosis, this procedure provides an early diagnosis of congenital infestation in 85% of the cases. Positive criteria are based on evidence of specific IgM, IgE or IgA in the child, but also on the detection of foetal or neonatal antitoxoplasmosis IgG which can be distinguished from the IgG transmitted by the mother. Polyisotypic supervision is of considerable value for assessment of prognosis and of therapeutic effectiveness at the end of treatment. Satisfactory isotypic characterization can only be achieved by using particular functional antigens.

A group of 78 women with sudden flushes and associated disorders (pruritus vulvae, headache, anxiety, instability, depression, libido disturbances) related to the menopause were treated with one or two capsules of veralipride daily for 20 days. Excellent or good results were obtained in 54 of the 69 patients (78 p. cent) with sudden flushes, and 29 of the 57 cases (51 p. cent) with associated disorders. The difference in scores before and after treatment is very highly significant (p < 0.001). Clinical tolerance was good as only 2 cases of minimal galactorrhea. 2 cases of mastodynia, 3 cases with mild drowsiness, 2 patients with nervous tension or insomnia, 3 with digestive disorders, 1 with vertigo, and 1 with mild visual disturbances were observed. No modifications in the biological parameters studied were noted. Blood prolactin levels increased during treatment but returned to normal levels 4 days after discontinuation of therapy. No significant modifications in FSH, LH, E2, or E3 plasma levels were noted at the end of the study. Veralipride appears, therefore, to be the prototype for non-hormonal therapy of menopausal disorders.

Eighty-two patients with laparoscopically confirmed salpingitis were randomly divided into two groups in a multicentre and prospective trial. Single drug therapy with the amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination was used in 42 patients (group A). The other 40 patients were given a combination of penicillin, aminoside and metronidazole (group B). For each case a secondary prescription for a tetracycline was discussed. Clinical results were comparable in both groups: sooner (at the end of the hospitalization period) in group A: 10 cured, 30 improved and 2 failures against 9 cured, 30 improved in group B. Later (evaluation after 5 to 8 weeks) a relapse was noted in five patients in group A and included one case of angioedema in group B. It is concluded that amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination is a satisfactory alternative to the penicillin-aminoside-metronidazole combination, especially as it is simpler to use.