Twin gestation and perinatal follow-up in a woman with severe chronic renal failure managed without dialysis. A case report.

Severe renal insufficiency (serum creatinine greater than 2 mg/dL) during pregnancy has been associated with poor perinatal outcome. Even in the absence of maternal indications, hemodialysis has been suggested for fetal indications, although the influence of maternal renal failure on the newborn's development is unknown. The effects of the abnormal biochemical environment of dialysis on fetal growth and development are also unknown, and the small numbers of reported cases make it difficult to assess the indications for hemodialysis. A 35-year-old woman had a twin gestation and severe chronic renal failure. The pregnancy was managed without hemodialysis, and at 33 weeks' gestation two healthy newborns were delivered with cesarean section. Bailey scales of infant development at 14 months of age showed normal infant development. Hemodialysis is not indicated solely for fetal reasons in the patient with severe but stable renal failure in the absence of severe hypertension, pre-eclampsia, deteriorating renal status or intrauterine growth retardation.

Pneumococcal polysaccharide antibody levels in patients with term and preterm pregnancies.

Serum antibody levels against 12 serotypes of pneumococcal polysaccharide were assessed in pregnant women as well as in cord bloods of their infants. Twelve women were evaluated during the first trimester, second trimester, and in labor at term, and eight women were assessed in the first trimester and in preterm labor. Antibody levels significantly decreased from the first trimester to delivery both in patients with term (339 versus 281 ng AbN/mL; P less than .001), and preterm (448 versus 299 ng AbN/mL; P less than .001) deliveries. There was no significant difference in mean antibody levels or their rate of decline between term and preterm pregnancies.

Diagnosis of intracranial hemorrhage in utero after a maternal seizure.

Reported is a patient who noted decreased fetal movements after a seizure at 32 weeks' gestation. Sonography revealed fetal death and findings consistent with an intraventricular hemorrhage. The possible explanations for and the significance of an association between a maternal seizure and fetal intraventricular hemorrhage are discussed.

Risk factors for prematurity and premature rupture of membranes: a prospective study of the vaginal flora in pregnancy.

Prematurity remains a major cause of perinatal mortality in the United States. Some research has indicated that infectious agents play a role in either initiating preterm labor, causing premature rupture of the membranes, or preventing tocolysis. This study attempted to determine if the presence of various vaginal pathogens in early pregnancy was associated with the subsequent development of premature rupture of membranes or preterm labor. We found that among 233 evaluable patients those with Trichomonas vaginalis were significantly more likely to have premature rupture of the membranes (p less than 0.03), and those with Bacteroides sp. were more likely to be delivered of their infants before 37 weeks (p less than 0.03) and to have infants weighing less than 2500 gm (p less than 0.05). Those with Ureaplasma urealyticum more frequently began preterm labor (p less than 0.05). Preterm premature rupture of the membranes was found significantly more often among patients with Bacteroides sp. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that those associations were not related to the number of previous abortions, deliveries, or preterm deliveries or to maternal age. We conclude that microbiologic screening in early pregnancy may aid in the assessment of patient risk for preterm delivery.

The relationship of maternal antibody levels to post-cesarean section endometritis.

One hundred eight pneumococcal polysaccharide antibody levels were determined by radioimmunoassay preoperatively in 18 patients who underwent elective repeat cesarean section. Eight patients developed post-cesarean section endometritis, and 10 did not. The endometritis group did not vary significantly from the noninfected group in preoperative hematocrit, social status, number of previous pregnancies, maternal and newborn weights, length of operation, and Apgar scores. Mean antibody levels in the endometritis group were significantly lower than those in the control group (49 versus 103 ng/ml; p less than 0.05). Mean antibody levels for the six serotypes in the endometritis group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p less than 0.05). This study indicated that a healthy maternal immune system may play an important role in preventing post-cesarean section morbidity. Pneumococcal polysaccharide antibody levels may be used in pregnancy to assess the risk for post-cesarean section infections.

Association of human papillomavirus infection with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Human papillomavirus infections of the cervix were assessed in patients attending a colposcopy clinic. Of 348 patients with cervical biopsies, 134 (38.5%) had human papillomavirus infections, and of 251 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 112 (44.6%) had human papillomavirus. The majority of patients with human papillomavirus had concurrent CIN (83.6%; 112/134). Patients with human papillomavirus were significantly younger than patients without human papillomavirus (24.4 versus 29.9 years mean age; P less than .001), had significantly milder degrees of CIN (84% versus 43% mild/moderate dysplasia; P less than .001), and had a significantly lower mean number of pregnancies (2.16 versus 3.05; P less than .001). A matched pairs analysis of 69 pairs showed the same distribution of CIN in both human papillomavirus and nonhuman papillomavirus patients. Electron microscopy of human papillomavirus--specific koilocytes confirmed the presence of human papillomavirus particles in the nuclei.

Adenomatoid tumor of the uterus simulating interstitial pregnancy.

A case of an adenomatoid tumor of the uterus is presented. The 22-year-old patient was admitted with classic signs and symptoms of an interstitial pregnancy. However, emergency surgery confirmed the diagnosis of an adenomatoid tumor of the uterus concomitant with an intrauterine pregnancy. Although rare, adenomatoid tumors of the uterus may present as a uterine abnormality, possibly causing problems in the differential diagnosis of it and an interstitial pregnancy.