Predictive value of preoperative complete blood count components on the occurrence of surgical site infection after elective cesarean section.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the predictive value of the preoperative complete blood count components on the occurrence of surgical site infection (SSI) after elective cesarean section. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective case control study in a tertiary care hospital located in New York City during the period of November 1, 2018, to October 30, 2020. We included patients who developed SSI after elective cesarean section as cases and patients who did not develop SSI as controls. We tested the ability of neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total white blood cells, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, hemoglobin to platelet ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, platelet to neutrophil ratio, platelet to hemoglobin ratio and neutrophil to hemoglobin ratio to identify the occurrence of SSI after cesarean section. RESULTS: We compared ten cases and 20 controls. The median lymphocyte and lymphocyte to hemoglobin ratio were statistically significantly higher in cases compared to controls (P=0.049 and P=0.04, respectively). A lymphocyte value higher than 1.5 x103/µL was the best cut-off to exclude the occurrence of SSI, with a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 50%, a positive predictive value of 5.5% and a negative predictive value of >99%. A lymphocyte to hemoglobin ratio higher than 1.13 was the best cut off to exclude the occurrence of SSI, with a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 60%, a positive predictive value of 6.8% and a negative predictive value >99%. CONCLUSIONS: The preoperative lymphocyte and lymphocyte to hemoglobin ratio should be incorporated into patient counseling and preoperative algorithms to identify patients who will develop SSI. The biological mechanisms involved remain to be investigated and our data should be confirmed by further and larger studies.

Concealed Uterine Rupture in the Broad Ligament in an Unscarred Uterus With Postpartum Hemorrhage.

Uterine rupture is an obstetric emergency that traditionally occurs during delivery in a mother with previously known risk factors, especially a uterine scar. However, a rupture that occurs in an unscarred uterus is uncommon. We report a case of a low-risk mother who presented for induction of labor for late-term pregnancy, without a history of uterine surgery, required vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery for maternal exhaustion, and one hour later was noted to have postpartum hemorrhage. The postpartum hemorrhage was managed medically but was taken for curettage due to continued hemorrhage and hemodynamic instability, followed by laparotomy which identified an 11 cm vertical uterine rupture parallel to the ascending uterine artery concealed in the broad ligament and extending inferiorly to the lateral cervix, necessitating a total abdominal hysterectomy. The patient tolerated the procedures well and was discharged home on postoperative day 2. Highlighting the importance of a high index of suspicion for uterine rupture, even without risk factors, this report describes an atypical presentation and describes an effective stepwise approach to management.

Hispanic race is a risk factor for COVID-19 during pregnancy: data from an urban New York City hospital.

There are limited studies on predisposing factors for COVID-19 positivity in asymptomatic pregnant women. The literature published to date on asymptomatic COVID-19 pregnant carriers does not focus on pregnancy or pre-pregnancy comorbidities. We wanted to identify risk factors for COVID-19 in asymptomatic pregnant women. We performed a retrospective chart review of 263 asymptomatic pregnant women admitted to labour and delivery at New York City Health + Hospitals/Lincoln.We analysed the association between race, body mass index (BMI), smoking, indication for admission, gravidity, parity, pre-pregnancy comorbidity, pregnancy comorbidity via uni- and multivariate statistical tests. Only Hispanic race was significant in the univariate analysis (p = .049). At the post-hoc analysis, Hispanics had a higher proportion of COVID-19 cases compared to non-Hispanic Blacks (p = .019). No variables were significantly associated with COVID-19 positivity in the multivariate analysis.Hispanic race appears to be a risk factor for asymptomatic COVID-19 infection during pregnancy. We speculate that the cultural and socioeconomic reality of Hispanic women living in our community leads to more exposure opportunities and therefore, a higher infection rate.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? Little is known on the role of comorbidities and risk factors that can favour COVID-19 infection during pregnancy.What do the results of this study add? We found that Hispanic pregnant asymptomatic women had a higher rate of COVID-19 in comparison to non-Hispanic Black women. Pre-pregnancy comorbidities such as pregestational diabetes, hypertension and asthma were not associated with COVID-19 positivity.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The reasons why the Hispanic race is more affected by COVID-19 during pregnancy is unclear. The social environment of Hispanic women living in our community, such as their tendency to live in multigenerational and multi-family households, might contribute to a higher infection rate. More resources might be dedicated in the future to Hispanic-dense neighbourhoods.

Fully Digitally Guided Implant Surgery Based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether fully digitally guided implant surgery may be performed with sufficient accuracy based on printing virtually designed templates after matching a surface scan with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dataset mimicking edentulous cases based on cadaver maxillae of pigs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The palatal mucosa of five young pig cadavers was scanned with an intraoral scanner. High-resolution MRI of the jaws was performed, and the images were exported as DICOM files and uploaded into software for implant planning. Six implant osteotomies were virtually planned in each jaw. The intraoral surface scans were fused with the volumetric MRI data based on the palatal soft tissue, and virtual templates for guided implant surgery were created and exported as STL files. These were printed and the templates were used to perform flapless guided osteotomy, with the templates fitting on the soft tissue of the jaws alone. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) of the jaws was performed after osteotomy. These data were fused with the virtually planned osteotomies, and the 3D crestal, apical, and axial deviations between the virtually planned and physically performed osteotomies were determined. RESULTS: Matching the surface scans with the mucosa was possible in three cases automatically; additional manual corrections were necessary in two cases. Thirty osteotomies were performed by applying the printed mucosa-supported templates. The mean angular deviation between the planned and realized cavities was 3.29 degrees (0.3 to 11.1 degrees; SD = 2.5 degrees), the mean 3D apical deviation was 1.3 mm (0.22 to 3.98 mm; SD = 0.94 mm), and the mean crestal deviation was 1.76 mm (0.39 to 3.79 mm; SD = 0.88 mm). CONCLUSION: MRI in combination with the presented workflow may be used in edentulous cases for guided implant surgery. Further studies are needed to prove the promising accuracy of this alternative approach in clinical trials.