Massive fetomaternal hemorrhage.

This report describes a full-term newborn with massive fetomaternal hemorrhage. Fetal movements were decreased 48 hr prior to delivery. On the day of delivery, they were absent. The nonstress test was abnormal with low biophysical profile and decreased beat-to-beat variability. The infant presented with extreme pallor, hypotonia, hepatosplenomegaly, and ascites. The initial hemoglobin was 2.2 g/dL, the Kleihauer-Betke stain was 27.6% (highest level ever reported). Right temporal and cerebellar hemorrhages were present. Sequelae include severe developmental delay and asymmetric double hemiplegia.

Sonographic appearance of suspected iatrogenic uterine perforation. A case report.

A case of iatrogenic uterine perforation occurred during dilation and curettage for treatment of a missed abortion at 14 weeks' gestation. Real-time transabdominal sonography was used to detect the fundal perforation and to follow serially the amount of fluid in the cul-de-sac. It is recommended that this noninvasive and direct diagnostic tool be used in the management of uterine perforation.

Resurgence of active tuberculosis among pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of active tuberculosis during pregnancy in two hospitals located in an area where tuberculosis is epidemic and to describe its course and association with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. METHODS: We reviewed and analyzed the medical records of 16 pregnant women diagnosed with tuberculosis between 1985-1992 at Kings County Hospital (n = 12) and Saint Vincent's Hospital (n = 4) in New York City. RESULTS: Ten of the 16 pregnant women with proven active tuberculosis had pulmonary tuberculosis, two had tuberculous meningitis, and one each had mediastinal, renal, gastrointestinal, and pleural tuberculosis. Eleven were tested for HIV, and seven were seropositive. One HIV-infected patient with pulmonary tuberculosis died of respiratory failure. In the 6 years between 1985-1990, five cases of active tuberculosis during pregnancy were identified (12.4 per 100,000 deliveries). During the 2 years of 1991-1992, 11 cases were recorded (94.8 per 100,000 deliveries). CONCLUSION: Cases of active tuberculosis are increasing among pregnant women in epidemic communities and are associated with HIV infection. Early tuberculin skin test screening with appropriate preventive therapy should reduce morbidity due to tuberculosis in HIV-infected women of reproductive age. Identification of pregnant women with tuberculosis requires a high index of suspicion.

Tubal pregnancy associated with ampullary tubal leiomyoma.

BACKGROUND: Fewer than 100 cases of leiomyoma of the fallopian tube have been described in the literature; most of them are asymptomatic. CASE: A woman presented with a tubal pregnancy which, at laparotomy, proved to be distal to a leiomyoma of the tube. CONCLUSION: Tubal myomas may predispose to tubal implantation of a conceptus. To our knowledge, this is the first time a tubal leiomyoma and a tubal pregnancy have been reported in the English literature.

Intrauterine pressure wave characteristics of the upper and lower uterine segments in parturients with active-phase arrest.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the gradient of pressure between the upper and the lower uterine segments of parturients with non-progressing labor and to see whether the gradient correlates with subsequent successful oxytocin augmentation. METHODS: Fifteen women with active-phase arrest of labor were monitored with two intrauterine pressure transducers before and after oxytocin augmentation. Seven parturients without arrest of labor were evaluated for comparison. One intrauterine pressure transducer was inserted into the upper and one into the lower uterine segment of each subject. Overall, 444 contractions were assessed using the mean active pressure method. RESULTS: A total of 16 patients delivered vaginally. Nine received oxytocin augmentation, and all had significantly higher pressure in the upper segment than in the lower both before and after oxytocin (P < .001). Six women delivered by cesarean had a reversed gradient of uterine activity, with the lower segment contracting significantly more strongly than the upper uterine segment both before (P = .002) and after oxytocin (P = .001). CONCLUSION: Pressure gradients between the upper and lower uterine segments in the active phase might predict the likelihood of success of oxytocin augmentation.

Foot necrosis in a surviving fetus associated with twin-twin transfusion syndrome and monochorionic placenta.

Twin gestations with diamniotic monochorionic placentas have increased perinatal morbidity. We report a case in which, following the death of one member of a set of twins, absent end-diastolic flow was noted. At delivery, we noted thrombosis of placental vessels and vascular connections between the placental vessels of the larger and the smaller twins. The surviving twin was also noted to have necrosis of the right foot, consistent with a thromboembolic phenomenon.