Transabdominal amniocentesis in expectant management of preterm premature rupture of membranes: A single center prospective study.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of IL-6 point-of-care test in amniotic fluid obtained from serial amniocentesis in expectantly managed women with PPROM between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study which included 62 pregnant women with PPROM in gestational weeks between 22+0 and 34+0. Women aged >18 years were eligible if they presented with PPROM and a singleton pregnancy. Only women who delivered at >24.0 weeks were included in the study. In all women, the maternal blood sampling and a transabdominal amniocentesis were performed at the time of admission prior to the administration of corticosteroids, antibiotics, or tocolytics, to rule out signs of chorioamnionitis. Maternal temperature, maternal serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) counts were assayed every subsequent day until delivery. Amniotic fluid was used for the clinical assessment (IL-6 point-of-care test, identification of microorganisms in the amniotic fluid. After one week of expectant management of PPROM, second amniocentesis with amniotic fluid sampling was performed in patients who did not deliver. For all newborns, medical records regarding neonatal morbidity and mortality were reviewed. RESULTS: In total, 62 women aged 19 to 41 years were recruited in the study. The mean gestational age at the time of PPROM was 31+0, the mean gestational age at labor was 32+1, and the median time from PPROM to childbirth was 112 h. IL-6 point-of-care test values above 1,000 pg/mL (positive Il-6 AMC) were found in 12 women (19.4%) with median interval from PPROM to childbirth 56 h (min-max: 6.4-288). IL-6 point-of-care test values below 1,000 pg/mL (negative Il-6 AMC) were found in 51 women (81.0%). The neonatal mortality rate was 1.9% and was associated with prematurity. CONCLUSION: The major clinical finding of our study is that serial transabdominal amniocentesis with Il-6 point-of-care test helps to identify a high inflammatory status in amniotic fluid in women with PPROM. Subsequent expectant management of women with PPROM does not lead to worsening of short-term neonatal outcomes.

Estimating the radiation dose to the fetus during prophylactic internal iliac occlusion in patients with abnormal placentation.

AIMS: To evaluate the estimated fetal radiation dose during prophylactic internal iliac arterial occlusion in patients with abnormal placenta and to estimate the risk of radiation induced cancer in child age. METHODS: Prophylactic occlusion of the internal iliac arteries during Caesarean section was performed in 42 patients with placenta praevia and/or placenta accreta spectrum. Fogarty embolectomy catheters were used for prophylactic occlusion of the internal iliac arteries. All procedures were performed in the hybrid operating room using Philips Allura Xper FD 20 X-ray system. Low dose X-ray fluoroscopy (7.5 frames per second) was used. The CODE (Conceptus dose estimation) Software was used to estimate the fetal dose and the risk of radiation induced carcinoma. RESULTS: Fluoroscopy times required for insertion of Fogarty catheters were 0.5-4.2 min (mean: 1.7 min, median: 1.5 min). The estimated radiation dose to the fetus was 0.26-3.36 mGy (mean: 1.49 mGy, median: 1.25 mGy). The risk of radiation induced cancer in child age was 0.01-0.04% (mean 0.02%, median 0.01%). One patient developed thrombosis of a common femoral artery. CONCLUSION: Prophylactic occlusion of the internal iliac arteries is a simple and safe procedure with minimal risk of complications and with a very low estimated radiation dose to the fetus.

Interleukin-6 measured using the automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay method for the identification of intra-amniotic inflammation in preterm prelabor rupture of membranes.

Introduction: We aimed to compare the amniotic fluid interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations measured using the automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay method and ELISA, and to establish an IL-6 concentration cut-off value for intra-amniotic inflammation (IAI) in preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM), which can be used in the automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay method.Materials and methods: A total of 120 women with PPROM were included in this study. Amniotic fluid samples were obtained through transabdominal amniocentesis. IL-6 concentrations were assessed using both the automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay method and ELISA, the current gold standard. IAI was defined as an amniotic fluid IL-6 concentration of ≥2600 pg/mL measured using ELISA.Results: A correlation between both assays was found (Spearman's rho = 0.97; p < .0001). Based on the receiver-operating characteristic curve for the identification of IAI (area under the curve = 0.99), a cut-off value of ≥3000 pg/mL was selected for the automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay method with a sensitivity of 88%, specificity of 99%, positive predictive value of 97%, negative predictive value of 96%, and likelihood ratio of 76.Conclusions: For amniotic fluid IL-6 concentrations assessed using the automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay method, a cut-off value of 3000 pg/mL was indicated for diagnosing IAI in women with PPROM.

A Head-to-Head Analytical Comparison of Cobas 4800 HPV, PapilloCheck HPV Screening, and LMNX Genotyping Kit HPV GP for Detection of Human Papillomavirus DNA in Cervical and Cervicovaginal Swabs.

High-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection is a cause of cervical cancer development. The addition of hrHPV testing to cervical cancer screening and monitoring of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia treatment improves the efficacy of screening and treatment, respectively. Self-sampling for hrHPV testing seems a promising tool for increasing patient participation in cervical cancer screening. In this project, 1198 cervical swabs obtained by physicians and 176 cervicovaginal swabs obtained by self-sampling (not collected in parallel) were analyzed for the presence of 14 hrHPV genotypes using three commercially available assays in comparison. HPV DNA was detected in 21.2% of all samples (21% of cervical swabs and 22.7% of cervicovaginal swabs). The cobas 4800 HPV Test was the most sensitive (0.983) and specific (0.992) for hrHPV detection overall. The PapilloCheck HPV-Screening and LMNX Genotyping Kit HPV GP had comparable specificity with that of the cobas (0.989 and 0.955, respectively), but lesser sensitivity (0.897 and 0.909, respectively). In physician-obtained cervical swabs, the cobas showed the highest sensitivity and specificity (0.980 and 0.994, respectively) for hrHPV detection, whereas in cervicovaginal swabs, the cobas had the highest sensitivity (1.00), but the PapilloCheck had the highest specificity (0.993). In conclusion, all of the detection methods evaluated were highly sensitive and specific for hrHPV detection from both clinician-collected cervical swabs and self-sampled cervicovaginal swabs.