Oral misoprostol vs. intravenous oxytocin in reducing blood loss after emergency cesarean delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of oral misoprostol and intravenous oxytocin in reducing blood loss in women undergoing indicated or elective cesarean delivery (CD) under spinal anesthesia. METHODS: In this prospective, double-blind pilot study, 56 parturients who received 5 IU of intravenous oxytocin after cord clamping were randomized to further receive either misoprostol orally and a placebo infusion intravenously or placebo orally and an oxytocin infusion intravenously. RESULTS: After adjustment was made for the sonographically estimated amniotic fluid volume, there was no statistical difference in blood loss between the 2 groups (mean+/-S.D., 1083+/-920 mL in the oxytocin group vs. 970+/-560 mL in the misoprostol group; P=.59). CONCLUSION: Oxytocin followed by oral misoprostol is as effective as an oxytocin injection followed by an oxytocin infusion in reducing postoperative blood loss after CD, and the protocol may be a safe, valuable, and cost-effective alternative to oxytocin alone. Visual estimation of intraoperative blood loss undervalues the effective value of misoprostol use by 30%.

Charts for cervical length in singleton pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: To construct charts for cervical length in a low risk population measured by transvaginal ultrasonography. METHODS: Pregnant women of an apparently normal population were seen in the ultrasound division of the University Women's Hospital Basel between 20 and 34 weeks of gestation and underwent once (one measurement per subject) a transvaginal ultrasound measurement of the cervix under standardized conditions. In order to establish normal values of the cervical length, finally only women who delivered spontaneously at term (>37 weeks of gestation) remained in the study. Exclusion criteria were preterm labor, multiple pregnancies, cerclage or surgical intervention prior to pregnancy. For statistical evaluation, regression analysis and calculation of 5th and 95th percentiles were performed. RESULTS: A total of 669 cervical measurements were recorded. The number of measurements differed from 22 measurements at 23 weeks of gestation to 86 at 31 weeks of gestation. Cervical length gradually and significantly decreased as the gestational age progressed (between 20 and 34 weeks of gestation). New charts with the 5th, 50th and 95th percentile are presented and compared with previously published data. CONCLUSIONS: Our charts for cervical length in a limited risk population can be used for observing patients at high risk of preterm delivery and for clearly identifying a significant deviation or decline in the percentile for these subjects.

Spontaneous fetal loss rates in a non-selected population.

The objective of this work was to determine the rate of spontaneous fetal loss up to 28 weeks of gestation in uncomplicated pregnancies of a low-risk population after sonographically identified intact intrauterine pregnancy during the first trimester. Transvaginal ultrasounds were given to 2,534 women at between six and 12 weeks of gestation. Inclusion criteria were a positive fetal cardiac activity and no antecedent signs of vaginal bleeding. Gestational age was confirmed by measurement of the crown-rump length and/or biparietal diameter (BIP). Patients were followed until delivery or up to a fetal loss. The mean fetal loss rate between 12 and 28 weeks was 3.86% (n = 99). Fetal loss increased with maternal age: fetal loss rate under 20 yr: 2.94% (OR 0.75; CI 0.23-2. 46), 20-24 yr: 3.20% (OR 0.77; CI 0.48-1.23), 25-29 yr: 3.39% (OR 0.77; CI 0.50-1.19), 30-34 yr: 3.89% (OR 1.01; CI 0.59-1.71), 35-39 yr: 7.82% (OR 2.13; CI 1.04-4.32), 40-45 y: 50% (OR 13.84; CI 6.67-28.72) and > 45 yr: 50% (OR 13.05; CI 1.96-86.71) respectively. The frequency of spontaneous fetal loss before 28 weeks gestation was assessed systematically in a low-risk population. There was a very clear correlation with advancing maternal age. These data now can be used as background loss rate information for evaluating the safety of invasive prenatal diagnosis, and they will be more valid for this purpose than the available data taken from selected cohorts of women, such as those from hospital clinics or from infertility programs.

Morphology assessed by transvaginal ultrasonography differs in patients in preterm labor with vs. without bacterial vaginosis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether cervical morphology in preterm labor patients differs in the presence or absence of bacterial vaginosis. DESIGN: Observational study. SUBJECTS: One hundred and twelve consecutive patients with objectively confirmed preterm labor admitted to a tertiary care centre were included in the study. Patients with placenta previa, active uterine bleeding or indication for an immediate delivery (e.g. severe pre-eclampsia or suspected fetal asphyxia), or severe fetal anomalies were excluded. METHODS: Transvaginal ultrasonography was used to measure cervical length and internal os width. Bacterial vaginosis was diagnosed by Gram stain of a vaginal smear. RESULTS: A total of 36 patients (32%) had bacterial vaginosis. Cervical length in this group was shorter than in patients with normal flora (mean 20.4 +/- 7.2 mm vs. 26.4 +/- 6.7 mm; P = 0.0002), and more patients with bacterial vaginosis had a dilated internal cervical os > or = 5 mm (67% vs. 30%, P = 0.001). There were no significant differences, however, in preterm delivery rate and birth weight between the two groups; the overall preterm delivery rate was 40%. A cervical length < 25 mm was predictive of preterm delivery (P = 0.001, RR 4.2, 95% CI 1.8-9.7). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that cervical change in preterm labor is more pronounced in patients with bacterial vaginosis but without a concomitant increase in the risk for preterm delivery. Despite this association, the cervical length measured by transvaginal ultrasonography alone is a useful predictor of preterm delivery, independent of the presence or absence of bacterial vaginosis.

Three dimensional volume measurement of the cervix during pregnancy compared to conventional 2D-sonography.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the three dimensional (3D) volume assessment of the cervix with the conventional two-dimensional cervical length measurement in a low and a high risk group for cervical incompetence. METHODS: In an observational study, we investigated a group A of low risk pregnancies (no preterm contractions, no vaginal bleeding or vaginal infections and no history of preterm delivery) and a group B of high risk pregnancies (preterm contractions or PROM). All patients underwent a transvaginal ultrasound investigation with a 7.5 MHz probe using a three-dimensional ultrasound system (Combison 530, Kretztechnik, Austria). After measuring the cervical length, the internal os and the funneling with the B-mode, 3D-volume was recorded twice by the same investigator using the same machine. Since 2D-length measurement of the cervix has been established to be predictive for spontaneous preterm delivery, we wanted to test whether 3D-volume assessment has a better discriminative power to differentiate a high-risk from a low-risk group. Therefore the 2D and 3D measurements (mm, resp. cm3) were compared between patient groups A and B using the two tailed Student t-test and Fisher's Exact test. RESULTS: In 2D cervical length measurement the mean cervical length in group A was significantly longer than in group B: 41.1 +/- 8.61 mm and 27.77 +/- 10.42 mm, P = 0.00000017. In 3D-sonography the mean cervical volume was larger in group A, but the difference compared to group B was not significant: 47.71 +/- 18.38 mm and 39.90 +/- 12.57 mm, P = 0.07. CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis cervical length measurement therefore was superior to cervical volume measurement assessed by 3D ultrasound for identifying women with increased risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. This may be due to the larger distribution of measurement values in the 3D group.