Neonatal and Maternal Outcomes in Spontaneously-Conceived Twin Pregnancies According to Mode of Delivery.

INTRODUCTION: Appropriate intrapartum conduct in a twin delivery remains a challenging aspect of obstetric practice. The objective of this study was to compare neonatal and maternal outcomes in twin pregnancies according to mode of delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a single centre retrospective cohort study of all consecutive spontaneously-conceived twin deliver-ies (≥ 24 weeks, estimated fetal weight ≥ 500 grams) over a nine-year period between 01/01/2007 - 31/12/2016 at a tertiary-level centre. Neonatal outcomes included survival, APGAR score, prematurity-associated pathology (PAP), admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and length of stay (LOS). Maternal outcomes included postpartum complications and LOS. Statistical analysis comprised Chi-square test with subsequent p-value and odds-ratio with 95% confidence interval. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: A total of 173 consecutive women with spontaneously-conceived twin deliveries were enrolled in this study, 129 (74.6%) women delivered by caesarean section (CS). The success rate of vaginal delivery (VD) was 93.6% (44/47). A strong statistical correlation was identified between CS and NICU admission; 53.2% vs. 1.5% (p=0.0001). Neonatal LOS in the NICU was significantly longer in the CS group. Prematurity-associated pathology (PAP) was noted in 75 pairs of twins (75/173); 61 pairs were delivered by CS, bearing strong statistical significance (p<0.0001). Postpartum complications occurred in 14.7% of CS compared to 13.6% of VDs. CONCLUSION: Neonates delivered by CS had a higher rate of PAP, NICU admission, lower birth weight and longer LOS. This study showed that VD is safe, especially when the first twin is in cephalic presentation.

Hemadsorption with Adult CytoSorb® in a Low Weight Pediatric Case.

Cytokine adsorber (CytoSorb) has been used successfully as adjunctive treatment for adult patients with elevated cytokine levels in the setting with severe sepsis and septic shock and to reduce blood myoglobin, unconjugated bilirubin, and conjugated bilirubin. In this article we present the case of a nine-month-old male infant who was admitted to the NICU due to sepsis after cardiac surgery, Fallot tetralogy, and multisystem organ failure (MSOF) including liver failure and renal failure which was successfully treated by a combination of continuous hemodiafiltration (HDF) and hemadsorption with CytoSorb. HDF was safe and effective from the first day for urea removal, but the patient's bilirubin levels kept increasing gradually, culminating on the 9th day with a maximum value of 54 mg/dL of total bilirubin and 31.67 mg/dL of direct bilirubin when we performed hemadsorption with CytoSorb. Over the 49-hour period of hemadsorption, the total bilirubin value decreased from 54 to 14 mg/dL, and the patient's general status improved considerably accompanied by a rapid drop of aminotransferases. Hemodynamic status has been improved as well and inotropes dropped rapidly. The patient's ventilation settings improved during CytoSorb treatment permitting weaning the patient from mechanical ventilation after five days of hemadsorption. The patient was discharged home after 34 days of hospitalization, in a good general status.