Brain ultrasound features in multiple births due to spontaneous conception compared with assisted reproductive techniques: a cross-sectional, population-based study.

AIM: Multiple pregnancies from spontaneous conception and obtained by assisted reproductive techniques (ART) are associated with a disproportionate share of complications compared with natural singleton pregnancies. The outcome of multiple pregnancies obtained by ART is still the subject of controversial opinions in the medical literature as they are associated with increased rates of perinatal complications, and perinatal mortality, as well as maternal complications. Aim of this study was to determine whether there are differences between these two groups of infants. METHODS: We examined the imaging findings by means of brain ultrasound (performed at birth and sequentially up to their 6th month of age) in a cohort of 296 twins and triplets born following different techniques of assisted fertilization (63 pregnancies; 119 neonates) vs. spontaneous conception (94 pregnancies; 177 neonates). RESULTS: We did record, by means of X square corrected test, statistically significant differences (P=0.002) between the two populations at birth in the number of normal ultrasound scans (ART

Tetralogy of Fallot variant with pulmonary atresia (pseudotruncus arteriosus) in a case of maternal PKU syndrome.

The authors report on a child with a rare variant of the Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia also known as Pseudotruncus arteriosus, who was born by a mother affected by classic phenylketonuria (PKU), diet free of phenylalanine until the age of seven years. According to the authors, this is the first example of such rare variant in an offspring of maternal PKU syndrome.

[Accidental ethyl alcohol intoxication in a 30-day-old infant. Clinical findings and neurological follow-up]. / Intossicazione accidentale da alcol etilico in un lattante di 30 giorni. Quadro clinico e follow-up neurologico.

Fetus damages due to alcohol abuse in pregnancy, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), are widely documented in the literature, whereas short and long term clinical signs of acute alcohol intoxication in newborn babies are poorly described. In our study we describe the case of a 30-day-old newborn baby erroneously fed with 70 mL of white wine in place of the water for milk dilution. The baby clinical features were torpor, tremors, slight fever without metabolic anomalies typical of classic acute alcohol intoxication such as hypoglycemia, hypothermia, metabolic acidosis and coma. Periodical follow-up a 2, 3, 6 and 12 months were performed in order to evaluate neuromotor development using Bayley Scales of Infant Development II, for children between 1 and 42 months old. The results showed normal psychomotor development in our patient.