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This article discusses the diagnosis of isthmocele, a uterine defect that occurs at the site of a previous cesarean section or other uterine surgeries. It affects up to 70% of women with a history of cesarean sections and can cause symptoms such as abnormal uterine bleeding and abdominal pain. Accurate diagnosis is important as isthmocele has been linked to complications in future pregnancies. Transvaginal ultrasonography is the primary diagnostic method, and the study suggests that performing the ultrasound during the secretive phase of the menstrual cycle provides clearer visualization of the isthmocele. Surgical correction can be done depending on the size of the defect. [Extracted from the article]

Background Cerebroplacental Doppler studies have been advocated to predict the risk of adverse perinatal outcome (APO) irrespective of fetal weight. Objective To report the diagnostic performance of cerebroplacental (CPR) and umbilicocerebral (UCR) ratios in predicting APO in appropriate for gestational age (AGA) fetuses and in those affected by late fetal growth restriction (FGR) attempting vaginal delivery. Study design Multicenter, retrospective, nested case-control study between 1 January 2017 and January 2020 involving five referral centers in Italy and Spain. Singleton gestations with a scan between 36 and 40 weeks and within two weeks of attempting vaginal delivery were included. Fetal arterial Doppler and biometry were collected. The AGA group was defined as fetuses with an estimated fetal weight and abdominal circumference >10th and <90th percentile, while the late FGR group was defined by Delphi consensus criteria. The primary outcome was the prediction of a composite of perinatal adverse outcomes including either intrauterine death, Apgar score at 5 min <7, abnormal acid-base status (umbilical artery pH < 7.1 or base excess of more than −11) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission. Area under the curve (AUC) analysis was performed. Results 646 pregnancies (317 in the AGA group and 329 in the late FGR group) were included. APO were present in 12.6% AGA and 24.3% late FGR pregnancies, with an odds ratio of 2.22 (95% CI 1.46–3.37). The performance of CPR and UCR for predicting APO was poor in both AGA [AUC: 0.44 (0.39–0.51)] and late FGR fetuses [AUC: 0.56 (0.49–0.61)]. Conclusions CPR and UCR on their own are poor prognostic predictors of APO irrespective of fetal weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Corpus callosum agenesis (ACC) is frequently diagnosed during fetal life; its prognosis depends also on additional anomalies. The additional value of fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in fetuses with "isolated" complete (cACC) and partial (pACC) agenesis of the corpus callosum on ultrasound is still debated. Material and methods: We performed a systematic literature review and meta‐analysis including fetuses with a prenatal diagnosis of cACC and pACC without associated structural anomalies on ultrasound, undergoing fetal MRI. The primary outcome was the rate of additional anomalies detected at fetal MRI. Further analyses assessed the effect of type of ultrasound assessment (neurosonography vs standard axial assessment), gestational age at fetal MRI and rate of postnatally detected brain anomalies. Random‐effect meta‐analyses of proportions were used to analyze the data. Results: Fourteen studies (798 fetuses) were included. In cases with isolated cACC, 10.9% (95% CI 4.1‐20.6) and 4.3% (95% CI 1.4‐8.8) additional anomalies were detected by fetal MRI and postnatally, respectively. Stratifying according to the type of ultrasound assessment, the rate of associated anomalies detected only on fetal MRI was 5.7% (95% CI 0.5‐16.0) with dedicated neurosonography and 18.5% (95% CI 7.8‐32.4) with a standard axial assessment. In fetuses with isolated pACC, 13.4% (95% CI 4.0‐27.0) and 16.2% (95% CI 5.9‐30.3) additional anomalies were detected by fetal MRI or postnatally, respectively. Stratifying according to the type of ultrasound assessment, the rate of associated anomalies detected only on fetal MRI was 11.4% (95% CI 2.7‐25.0) when dedicated neurosonography was performed. Cortical and posterior fossa anomalies represented the most common anomalies missed at ultrasound with both cACC and pACC. Due to the very small number of included cases, stratification according to early (<24 weeks of gestation) and late (>24 weeks) fetal MRI could not be done for either cACC or pACC. Conclusions: The rate of associated anomalies detected exclusively at fetal MRI in isolated ACC undergoing neurosonography is lower than previously reported. Cortical and posterior fossa anomalies are among the most common anomalies detected exclusively at MRI, thus confirming the crucial role of fetal MRI in determining the prognosis of these fetuses. However, some anomalies still go undetected prenatally and this should be stressed during parental counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the impact of severity and management (expectant, laser treatment or selective reduction) on perinatal outcome of monochorionic twin pregnancies complicated by selective fetal growth restriction (sFGR).Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov and The Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies on outcome following expectant management, laser treatment or selective reduction in monochorionic twin pregnancies complicated by sFGR. Only pregnancies affected by sFGR and categorized according to the Gratacós classification (Type I, II or III) were included. The primary outcome was mortality, including single and double intrauterine (IUD), neonatal (NND) and perinatal deaths. Secondary outcomes were neonatal morbidity, abnormal postnatal brain imaging, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, respiratory distress syndrome, admission to neonatal intensive care unit and survival free from neurological complications (intact survival). Meta-analyses of proportions were used to analyze the extracted data according to management, severity of sFGR and fetal size (smaller vs larger twin).Results: Sixteen observational studies (786 monochorionic twin pregnancies) were included. In pregnancies complicated by Type-I sFGR managed expectantly, IUD occurred in 3.1% (95% CI, 1.1-5.9%) of fetuses and 97.9% (95% CI, 93.6-99.9%) of twins had intact survival. In pregnancies complicated by Type-I sFGR treated using laser therapy, IUD occurred in 16.7% (95% CI, 0.4-64.1%) of fetuses and, in those treated using selective reduction, IUD occurred in 0% (95% CI, 0-34.9%) of cotwins, with no evidence of neurological complications in the survivors. In pregnancies complicated by Type-II sFGR managed expectantly, IUD occurred in 16.6% (95% CI, 6.9-29.5%) and NND in 6.4% (95% CI, 0.2-28.2%) of fetuses, and 89.3% (95% CI, 71.8-97.7%) of twins survived without neurological compromise. In Type-II sFGR pregnancies treated using laser therapy, IUD occurred in 44.3% (95% CI, 22.2-67.7%) of fetuses, while none of the affected cases experienced morbidity and survivors were free of neurological complications. Of pregnancies undergoing selective reduction, IUD of the cotwin occurred in 5.0% (95% CI, 0.03-20.5%) and NND in 3.7% (95% CI, 0.2-11.1%), and 90.6% (95% CI, 42.3-94.3%) of surviving cotwins were free from neurological complications. In pregnancies complicated by Type-III sFGR managed expectantly, IUD occurred in 13.2% (95% CI, 7.2-20.5%) and NND in 6.8% (95% CI, 0.7-18.6%) of fetuses, and 61.9% (95% CI, 38.4-81.9%) of twins had intact survival. In pregnancies complicated by Type-III sFGR treated with laser therapy, IUD occurred in 32.9% (95% CI, 20.9-46.2%) of fetuses and all surviving twins were without neurological complications. Finally, in pregnancies with Type-III sFGR treated with selective reduction, NND occurred in 5.2% (95% CI, 0.8-12.8%) of cotwins and 98.8% (95% CI, 93.9-99.9%) had intact survival.Conclusion: Type-I sFGR is characterized by good perinatal outcome when managed expectantly, which represents the most reasonable management strategy for the large majority of affected cases. Pregnancies complicated by Type-II or -III sFGR treated with fetoscopic laser ablation have a higher rate of mortality but lower rate of morbidity compared with those managed expectantly, supporting the use of fetal therapy at gestations remote from neonatal viability. Data on outcome following selective reduction are scarce. In view of the lack of evidence from randomized controlled trials, prenatal management of sFGR should be individualized according to gestational age at diagnosis, severity of growth discordance and magnitude of Doppler anomalies. Copyright © 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal echocardiography in first and early second trimester of pregnancy (≤16 weeks) is now considered an integral part of fetal cardiology in centres with expertise in this area 1,2 . Early echocardiography was complete in 71% of fetuses at 12-16 weeks 3 and the aortic arch seen in axial views in >90% fetuses at 12-13 weeks 4 . This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:  To investigate the value of a new cervical sonographic sign, called the jellyfish sign (JS), for predicting the risk of maternal morbidity in cases of abnormally invasive placenta (AIP) previa totalis., Materials and Methods:  Retrospective evaluation of transvaginal (TV) and transabdominal (TA) scans performed in all singleton pregnancies with placenta previa totalis. JS, i. e. the absence of the normal linear demarcation between the placenta previa and the cervix, was evaluated by TV scans. The presence/severity of AIP and outcomes of maternal morbidity were related to this sign., Results:  JS was noted in 8/39 (20.5 %) patients. The two analyzed groups, i. e. with and without JS, were similar. The specificity of JS in AIP diagnosis, histological findings of accreta/increta/percreta, need for caesarean hysterectomy or blood loss > 2000 ml ranges between 92 % and 96.2 %, with the PPV and NPV ranging between 71.4 % and 85.7 % and 61.3 % and 80.6 %, respectively. The JS group had a significant increase in blood loss (ml) (p = 0.003), transfusions (%) (p = 0.016), red blood cells (p = 0.002) and plasma (p = 0.002), admission to an postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) (%) (p = 0.002), hospitalization length (p < 0.001) and the need of cesarean hysterectomy (%) (p < 0.001). JS was independently correlated to cesarean hysterectomy (OR 25.6; 95 % CI 2.0:322.3, p = 0.012) and blood loss > 2000 ml (OR 16.6; 95 % CI 1.5:180.1, p = 0.021) also in a logistic regression model., Conclusion:  JS is useful in predicting the increase in maternal morbidity: massive transfusion, admission to the ICU and cesarean hysterectomy related to intraoperative bleeding in patients with a previa AIP., Competing Interests: Disclosure The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)