Maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancies with pulmonary hypertension: Experience of a tertiary center.

OBJECTIVE: Pregnancies complicated with PHT are serious debates for obstetricians due to high maternal and fetal complication potentials. The aim of the study was to present our maternofetal outcomes in pregnant women with pulmonary hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed using data extracted from the medical files of 23 pregnancies of 18 patients with PHT who were followed-up in the obstetrics and gynecology department. RESULTS: The average age was 27.09 ± 6.97 (range: 14-38) years. The most frequent maternal cardiac pathologies were cardiac valvular disease (mitral or aortic insufficiency) (n = 4), atrial septal defect (n = 3), mitral stenosis (n = 3), ventricular septal defect (n = 2) and arrhythmia (n = 2). Caesarean section and normal vaginal delivery were performed in 13 and 7 deliveries, respectively. Therapeutic dilatation and curettage was performed in 3 patients. Preterm delivery occurred in 4 pregnancies and there were 2 intrauterine growth retardations, 1 preeclampsia and 2 maternal pulmonary edemas. One patient underwent re-laparotomy 5 days after delivery due to uterine hematoma. Totally, 20 newborns (14 female, 6 male) were delivered. Most of the complications were seen in advanced PHT classes. CONCLUSION: The care of the pregnant women with PHT necessitates a well-planned, multidisciplinary approach focusing on close monitoring before, during and after delivery. This approach may contribute to reduction of poor maternal and fetal outcomes.

The Use of Human Epididymis 4 and Cancer Antigen 125 Tumor Markers in the Benign or Malignant Differential Diagnosis of Pelvic or Adnexal Masses.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is one of the highest mortality cancers in gynaecology. Discrimination of benign masses from malignant ones may sometimes become a challenge for the clinician since there is not a reliable tumour marker, thus some unnecessary, highly morbid operations can be performed. AIMS: To explore the efficacy of human epididymis 4 (HE 4) and cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) markers in differentiating malignant and benign pelvic masses of ovarian origin and to identify the cut-off points for those markers. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. METHODS: Fifty-one patients who were diagnosed and planned to undergo surgery for ovarian mass between June 2008 and December 2008 were enrolled into this study. Preoperative venous blood samples were taken and frozen for marker investigation and final diagnoses were concluded by histopathological examination. After recruitment of all cases CA 125 and HE 4 levels were evaluated. RESULTS: The statistical analysis did not indicate any statistically significant difference between the CA 125 levels of the patients with malignant and benign adnexal masses (p=0.105). The HE 4 levels of the patients with malignant adnexal masses were higher at a statistically significant level compared to the patients with benign adnexal masses (p=0.002). For HE 4 tumour marker and at the cut-off point of >25 pM, sensitivity was 1, specificity 0.40, positive cut-off value 0.19, negative cut-off value 1, accuracy 0.47 and positive likelihood ratio 1.65. CONCLUSION: Human epididymis 4 is a better diagnostic tool than CA 125 in benign-malignant discrimination of adnexal masses. The cut-off value of 25 pmol/L for human epididymis 4 will contribute to providing proper guidance to patients with adnexal masses and applying the proper treatment method.

Preterm birth in twin pregnancies: Clinical outcomes and predictive parameters.

OBJECTIVE: To document the neonatal outcomes of preterm birth in twin pregnancies and to investigate whether perinatal and obstetric parameters are associated with clinical outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective trial was conducted on data gathered from 176 preterm twins delivered in the obstetrics and gynecology department of our tertiary care center. Data extracted from medical files of 88 pregnant women who gave preterm birth (at 26(0/7) to 36(6/7) gestational weeks) to twins were analyzed. Maternal/fetal descriptive and obstetric parameters, sonographic data, route of delivery, indication for cesarean section, birth weight, Apgar scores, head circumference, umbilical cord length and placental weight were noted. RESULTS: The average age of the pregnant women was 28.8±6.4 years and ultrasonographic gestational age was 31.9±2.6 weeks. Apgar scores at 1(st) minute were affected significantly by fetal body weight (p=0.001), gestational age (p=0.001), height (p=0.004) and head circumference (p=0.011). None of these variables exhibited a noteworthy effect on Apgar scores at 5(th) minute. CONCLUSION: Efforts must be made to achieve advancement of gestational age until delivery in the follow-up preterm of twins. A well-established algorithm with special emphasis to risk factors is necessary to standardize and popularize the appropriate management strategy.

Effect of Young Maternal Age on Obstetric and Perinatal Outcomes: Results from the Tertiary Center in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Young maternal age is variously defined in studies of its effect on obstetrics and perinatal outcomes. Also, pregnancy has been reported as the leading cause of death in adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries. AIMS: The aim of the study was to evaluate whether young maternal age was associated with an increased risk of obstetrics and perinatal adverse outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study. METHODS: This case-control study was derived from a database of the medical records between January 2008 and December 2012. In the present study, 1374 teenage pregnancy and 1294 adult pregnancy cases were included. After restriction of analyses to singleton primiparous women, 1282 teenage pregnancy and 735 adult pregnancy cases were analyzed. Maternal age was separated into three groups: 15 and less, 16-19, and 20-34 years. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were derived through logistic regression models for the potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Adolescents aged 15 years and younger had higher risks of preterm delivery, early preterm delivery, intrauterine fetal death and neonatal death compared with women aged 20 to 34 years after adjustment for confounding factors. In addition, both groups of adolescents had higher risks for anemia and episiotomy and lower risk of cesarean delivery. The rates of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, chronic diseases, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) were higher in the adult group. CONCLUSION: Younger maternal age was correlated with increased risks of preterm delivery, fetal and neonatal death and anemia.

Diagnostic utility of saline infusion doppler sonohysterography in endometrial mass lesions.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the importance of saline infusion Doppler sonohysterography (SIS-D) in the assessment of transvaginal ultrasound (TVUSG)-suspected intrauterine mass lesions in women complaining about abnormal uterine bleeding with respect to hysteroscopy (H/S) and pathologic diagnosis. METHODS: This study was conducted on patients, who visited to our clinic with abnormal uterine bleeding and whose TVUSGs indicated intrauterine masses. The study covered a total of 100 patients. SIS-D and hysteroscopy were performed on those 100 patients. SIS-D results were compared with hysteroscopy results. The relation between SIS-D findings and pathology results were evaluated. RESULTS: For SIS; specificity was 96%, sensitivity was 60%, positive predictive value (PPV) was 87.8%, negative predictive value (NPV) was 83.3%, and the accuracy rate was 87%. For TVUSG; PPV was 75%. According to SIS-D, 92.2% of the lesions that had single-vessel feeding patterns were endometrial polyps, and this was statistically significant (p<0.0001). 57.1% of the lesions that had multiple-vessel feeding patterns were submucous myomas, and this was statistically significant (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: SIS should be performed in patients before hysteroscopy because it will protect a considerable number of patients from unnecessary invasive procedures. SIS-D gives an idea on the histopathology of the mass.

Incidental intravascular lipoleiomyomatosis in a hysterectomy specimen: how to manage?

Leiomyomas are common benign tumors in female gynaecologic surgery. They are originated from smooth muscle cells of the uterus and/or sometimes of the uterine vessels. Intravascular lipoleiomyomatosis is a very rare form of leiomyomas which grow within veins and can extend up to vena cava inferior and right heart chamber with cardiac symptoms and is diagnosed by cardiovascular surgeons. We report a case of incidental intravascular lipoleiomyomatosis which was confined to the uterus being diagnosed after a total abdominal hysterectomy by pathology and its management strategy.

Perioperative complications in abdominal sacrocolpopexy, sacrospinous ligament fixation and prolift procedures.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic organ prolapse is an important problem for women. To overcome this issue, different operational technics are in use, such as abdominal sacrocolpopexy, sacrospinous fixation, and the total Prolift procedure. AIMS: This study assessed perioperative complications in abdominal sacrocolpopexy, sacrospinous fixation, and the total Prolift procedure. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective comparative study. METHODS: Perioperative complications were defined as any complication occurring during surgery or the first 6 weeks postoperatively. Forty-five patients underwent abdominal procedures, 60 patients underwent sacrospinous fixation, and 43 patients underwent the total Prolift procedure. RESULTS: In the abdominal group, one bladder injury, four hemorrhages, and three wound dehiscences occurred. In the sacrospinous group, one rectal injury and one postoperative vault infection occurred. In the Prolift group, one bladder injury and one hemorrhage occurred. Minor complications were more frequent in the abdominal group than the others. The operating time and hospital stay of the abdominal group were significantly longer than the others. The Pro-lift procedure had less operating time and hospital stay than other procedures. CONCLUSION: The total Prolift may be a novel alternative for apical prolapse with low perioperative morbidities and complications.

Post-abortion hysteroscopy: a method for early diagnosis of congenital and acquired intrauterine causes of abortions.

OBJECTIVE: Recurrent pregnancy loss is often defined as three or more consecutive pregnancy losses but there are no strict criteria for initiation of investigations after a miscarriage. We compared the frequency of uterine anomalies diagnosed by hysteroscopy following one, two and three or more miscarriages. STUDY DESIGN: In our study 151 patients underwent diagnostic hysteroscopy following a missed or an incomplete abortion. Uterine septum, subseptum, arcuate uterus, and uterine hypoplasia are classified as congenital uterine anomalies and polyps, synechia, and submucous myomas are classified as acquired uterine abnormalities. RESULTS: 151 Patients were enrolled in the study. The pregnancy numbers of the patients varied between 1 and 12. Sixty nine (46%) of the patients had one miscarriage, 42 (28%) had two miscarriages and 40 (26%) had three or more miscarriages. Diagnostic hysteroscopy revealed normal uterine cavity in 61.1% of the patients, congenital uterine anomalies in 20.4% and acquired uterine pathologies in 18.5%. Among the congenital anomalies, 14 (9.3%) were uterine septum, 10 (6.6%) were subseptate uterus, 4 (2.6%) were arcuate uterus and 3 (1.9%) were uterine hypoplasia. Among acquired abnormalities 14 (9.3%) were uterine synechia, 12 (7.9%) were endometrial polyps, and 2 (1.3%) were submucous myoma. Among patients who had one miscarriage 64.1% had a normal uterine cavity, 18.2% had congenital abnormalities and 17.7% had acquired uterine pathologies. Of patients with two miscarriages, 52% had a normal uterine cavity, 21.9% had congenital anomalies and 26.1% had acquired uterine pathology. In the three or more miscarriage group, 58.4% had normal uterine cavity, 25.3% had congenital anomalies, and 16.3% had acquired uterine pathology. We did not find any statistically significant difference between the number of miscarriages and pathologic diagnostic hysteroscopy findings. CONCLUSIONS: Post-abortion office hysteroscopy is a simple and efficient tool in the early diagnosis of congenital and acquired uterine pathologies. Diagnostic hysteroscopy can be performed after the first miscarriage in order to determine congenital and acquired uterine pathologies, with regard to the patient's age and anxiety level.