Diagnostic performance of two ultrasound techniques for the detection of cleft palate without cleft lip: axial-transverse and equal sign.

OBJECTIVE: There is no study that compares the diagnostic performance of ATV and ESV techniques in detecting cleft palate. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of two ultrasound techniques: axial-transverse (ATV) and "equal sign" view (ESV), in detecting fetal cleft palate without cleft lip. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective study was conducted from March 2019 to January 2022 in a tertiary referral hospital. Secondary palates were assessed with ATV and ESV by two experienced fetal medicine specialists who were blinded to each other's ultrasound findings. Final diagnosis was done according to postnatal physical examination. The sensitivity and specificity of the two techniques were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 311 pregnancies which met the study criteria were evaluated. Postnatal physical examination showed that 13 (0.4%) neonates had cleft palate only (CPO). According to final diagnosis the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for ATV were 100%, 98.7%, 76.4%, 100% and 100% for ESV were 76.9%, 97.8%, 58.9% and 99%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ATV in 2D ultrasound provides higher sensitivity and specificity than ESV in detecting CPO.

Pregnancy outcomes in female cancer survivors after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to retrospectively investigate the pregnancy outcomes of patients who underwent stem cell transplantation (SCT). We also aimed at determining the reasons for avoiding pregnancy despite prolonged remission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of patients who became pregnant after autologous or allogeneic SCT at Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtarslan Oncology Hospital between 2009 and 2020 for hematologic diseases. Data from 83 patients who had undergone allogeneic or autologous SCT were available for analysis. A total of 18 pregnancies occurred in 14 of these patients. To compare pregnancy outcomes, pregnant patients who received care at Etlik Zübeyde Hanim Maternity Hospital were selected as the control group. RESULTS: No pregnancy occurred in 69 of the patients whose data were analyzed. Of these 69 patients, 48 (69.6%) did not want to become pregnant. The most common reason for not wanting a pregnancy was due to the fact that the patient was not married [21 patients (30.4%)]. The pregnancy rate was higher in the HL group than in other hematologic malignancies [8 patients (57.1%)]. Twelve (85.7%) of the patients who became pregnant did so after autologous SCT and 2 (14.3%) after allogeneic SCT. The cumulative incidence of obstetric complications was higher in pregnancies after SCT than in the control group, and the prevalence of low birth weight was observed more frequently. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who became pregnant after SCT have a higher rate of pregnancy complications. However, these patients achieve similar live birth rates as the healthy population. Many patients have concerns about pregnancy and should be counseled appropriately.

Prorenin and secreted frizzled-related protein 4 levels in women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate prorenin and secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) levels in pregnancies with or without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: A total of 76 pregnant women were included in the study. Thirty-five of the pregnant women were included in GDM group according to the results of oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) and 41 of them were included in the control group. RESULTS: In the group with GDM, SFRP4 value was found to be significantly higher than that of the control group (5.59 ± 3.32 ng/mL vs 4.05 ± 2.15 ng/mL; p = 0.017). Women with GDM had significantly higher serum prorenin levels compared with control group [737 (427-1339) pg/mL vs. 535 (376-725) pg/mL; p = 0.009]. There was a significant positive association between prorenin and SFRP4 levels in GDM (r = 0.91; p < 0.001) and control groups (r = 0.42; p = 0.002) and whole pregnancies (r = 0.75; p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: We have shown that prorenin and SFRP4 were significantly elevated in GDM patients when compared to healthy control group. Furthermore, we found that there was a positive correlation between prorenin and SFRP4 (Tab. 1, Fig. 2, Ref. 38).

Effect of drainage on postoperative pain after laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy.

The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the effect of drainage on postoperative shoulder and abdominal pain after uncomplicated laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy (LOC). Allocation to drain or not to drain was non-randomised. There were 55 patients with drainage and 56 patients without drainage. Postoperative shoulder and abdominal pain was assessed using a 10-point visual analogue scale. Postoperative hospital stay in the drainage group was longer than the non-drainage group (p = 0.040). Postoperative shoulder pain scores at 6 h and 24 h were similar between the drainage and non-drainage groups (p = 0.376 and p = 0.847, respectively). Postoperative abdominal pain was higher in the drainage group at 6 h (p = 0.009), but was similar at 24 h (p = 0.097) between the groups. These data suggest that for LOC, drainage may not be useful to prevent postoperative shoulder pain and also increases postoperative abdominal pain and length of hospital stay.