{"title":"Clinical characteristics and outcomes of women with adenomyosis pain during pregnancy: a retrospective study","authors":"Seisuke Sayama, Takayuki Iriyama, Yotaro Takeiri, Ayako Hashimoto, Masatake Toshimitsu, Mari Ichinose, Takahiro Seyama, Kenbun Sone, Keiichi Kumasawa, Takeshi Nagamatsu, Kaori Koga, Yutaka Osuga","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2023-0263","url":null,"abstract":"Objectives Adenomyosis is associated with unfavorable perinatal outcomes, and recent case reports show that some women with adenomyosis experience pain at the adenomyosis lesion during pregnancy and have detrimental perinatal outcomes. This study aimed to clarify the clinical characteristics of this pain and perinatal outcomes associated with this phenomenon. Methods This was a single-center retrospective analysis of pregnant women with adenomyosis. The incidence of pain onset at adenomyosis lesions, defined as persistent pain at the adenomyosis site with administration of analgesics for pain relief, and its association with perinatal outcomes were analyzed. Results Among 91 singleton pregnancies with adenomyosis, 12 pregnancies (13.2 %) presented with pain. One pregnancy resulted in second-trimester miscarriage, and 5 of the 11 pregnancies (45 %) developed preeclampsia, which resulted in preterm delivery, and 3 of the 12 pregnancies (25 %) achieved term delivery. The incidence of preeclampsia and preterm delivery was higher in those who experienced pain than in those without (45 % [5/11] vs. 15 % [11/74]; p<0.05, and 73 % [8/11] vs. 34 % [25/74]; p<0.05, respectively). Among women with pain, the maximum C-reactive protein level was significantly higher in women who developed preeclampsia than in those who did not (5.45 vs. 0.12 mg/dL, p<0.05). Conclusions Our study revealed that adenomyosis can cause pain in over one of eight pregnancies with adenomyosis, which may be associated with the increased incidence of preeclampsia resulting in preterm delivery. Women with pain, especially those with high C-reactive protein levels, may be at high risk for future development of preeclampsia and consequent preterm delivery.","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138692381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Edin Medjedovic, Zijo Begic, Milan Stanojevic, Buena Aziri, Edin Begic, Milan Djukic, Zorica Mladenovic, Asim Kurjak
{"title":"Left atrial strain in fetal echocardiography – could it be introduced to everyday clinical practice?","authors":"Edin Medjedovic, Zijo Begic, Milan Stanojevic, Buena Aziri, Edin Begic, Milan Djukic, Zorica Mladenovic, Asim Kurjak","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2023-0359","url":null,"abstract":"Objectives Prenatal cardiology is a part of preventive cardiology based on fetal echocardiography and fetal interventional cardiology, which facilitates treatment of congenital heart defects (CHD) in pediatric patients and consequently in adults. Timely prenatal detection of CHD plays a pivotal role in facilitating the appropriate referral of pregnant women to facilities equipped to provide thorough perinatal care within the framework of a well-structured healthcare system. The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of left atrial strain (LAS) in prenatal evaluation of fetal heart and prediction of structural and functional disorders. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature review searching PubMed for articles published from inception up until August 2023, including the search terms “left atrial strain”, “fetal echocardiography”, and “prenatal cardiology” combined through Boolean operators. In addition, references lists of identified articles were further reviewed for inclusion. Results Our review underscores the significance of LAS parameters in fetal echocardiography as a screening tool during specific gestational windows (starting from 11 to 14 weeks of gestation, followed by better visualization between 18 and 22 weeks of gestation). The left atrial strain technique and its parameters serve as valuable indicators, not only for identifying cardiac complications but also for predicting and guiding therapeutic interventions in cases of both cardiac and noncardiac pregnancy complications in fetuses. Evidence suggests establishment of second-trimester reference strain and strain rate values by speckle-tracking echocardiography in the healthy fetal cohort is essential for the evaluation of myocardial pathologies during pregnancy. Conclusions Finding of LAS of fetal heart is feasible and probably can have potential for clinical and prognostic implications.","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138631539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bruce K. Young, Pascalle Florine Magdelijns, Judith L. Chervenak, Michael Chan
{"title":"Amniotic fluid embolism: a reappraisal","authors":"Bruce K. Young, Pascalle Florine Magdelijns, Judith L. Chervenak, Michael Chan","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0365","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2023-0365","url":null,"abstract":"Objectives Using cases from our own experience and from the published literature on amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), we seek to improve on existing criteria for diagnosis and discern associated risk factors. Additionally, we propose a novel theory of pathophysiology. Methods This retrospective case review includes eight cases of AFE from two hospital systems and 21 from the published literature. All cases were evaluated using the modified criteria for research reporting of AFE by Clark et al. in Am J Obstet Gynecol, 2016;215:408–12 as well as our proposed criteria for diagnosis. Additional clinical and demographic characteristics potentially correlated with a risk of AFE were included and analyzed using descriptive analysis. Results The incidence of AFE was 2.9 per 100,000 births, with five maternal deaths in 29 cases (17.2 %) in our series. None of the cases met Clark’s criteria while all met our criteria. 62.1 % of patients were over the age of 32 years and two out of 29 women (6.9 %) conceived through <jats:italic>in-vitro</jats:italic> fertilization. 6.5 % of cases were complicated by fetal death. Placenta previa occurred in 13.8 %. 86.2 % of women had cesarean sections of which 52.0 % had no acute maternal indication. Conclusions Our criteria identify more patients with AFE than others with a low likelihood of false positives. Clinical and demographic associations in our review are consistent with those previously reported. A possible relationship between cesarean birth and risk of AFE was identified using our criteria. Additionally, we propose a new hypothesis of pathophysiology.","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138580455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Re: to the Letter to the Editor: “ChatGPT and artificial intelligence in the Journal of Perinatal Medicine”","authors":"A. Grünebaum, F. Chervenak, Joachim Dudenhausen","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0380","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2023-0380","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138584556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Han Kang, Yifei Chen, Lingxi Wang, Chonglan Gao, Xingyu Li, Yu Hu
{"title":"Pathogenic recurrent copy number variants in 7,078 pregnancies via chromosomal microarray analysis","authors":"Han Kang, Yifei Chen, Lingxi Wang, Chonglan Gao, Xingyu Li, Yu Hu","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2022-0580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2022-0580","url":null,"abstract":"Objectives To investigate the incidence of pathogenic recurrent CNVs in fetuses with different referral indications and review the intrauterine phenotypic features of each CNV. Methods A total of 7,078 amniotic fluid samples were collected for chromosome microarray analysis (CMA) and cases carrying pathogenic recurrent CNVs were further studied. Results The highest incidence of pathogenic recurrent CNVs was 2.25 % in fetal ultrasound anomalies (FUA) group. Moreover, regardless of other indications, pregnant women with advanced maternal age have a lower incidence compared with whom less than 35 years old (p<0.05). In total 1.17 % (83/7,078) samples carried pathogenic recurrent CNVs: 20 cases with 22q11.2 recurrent region (12 microdeletion and eight microduplication), 11 with 1q21.1 (five microdeletion and six microduplication) and 16p13.11 (four microdeletion and seven microduplication), 10 with 15q11.2 recurrent microdeletion, seven with Xp22.31 recurrent microdeletion and 16p11.2 (three microdeletion and four microduplication), four with 7q11.23 (two microdeletion and two microduplication), three with 17p11.2 (three microdeletion), 17p12 (two microdeletion and one microduplication) and 17q12 (two microdeletion and one microduplication). The rest ones were rare in this study. Conclusions Pathogenic recurrent CNVs are more likely to be identified in FUA group. Pregnant women with advanced maternal age have a lower incidence of pathogenic recurrent CNVs. The profile of pathogenic recurrent CNVs between prenatal and postnatal is different, especially in 22q11.2, 1q21.1, 15q13.3 recurrent region and 15q11.2 deletion.","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138572453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessica A. Meyer, Jenna Silverstein, Ilan E. Timor-Tritsch, Clarel Antoine
{"title":"The effect of uterine closure technique on cesarean scar niche development after multiple cesarean deliveries","authors":"Jessica A. Meyer, Jenna Silverstein, Ilan E. Timor-Tritsch, Clarel Antoine","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/jpm-2023-0211","url":null,"abstract":"Objectives To use saline infusion sonohysterography (SIS) to evaluate the effect of uterine closure technique on niche formation after multiple cesarean deliveries (CDs). Methods Patients with at least one prior CD were evaluated for niche via SIS. Subgroups of any number repeat CD (>1 prior), lower-order CD (<4 prior), and higher-order CD (≥4 prior) were analyzed, stratifying by hysterotomy closure technique at last cesarean preceding imaging; techniques included Technique A (endometrium-free double-layer closure) and Technique B (single- or double-layer routine endo-myometrial closure). Niche defects were quantified (depth, length, width, and residual myometrial thickness). The primary outcome was clinically significant niche, defined as depth >2 mm. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square, ANOVA, t-test, Kruskal-Wallis, and multiple logistic regression, with p-values of <0.05 were statistically significant. Results A total of 172 post-cesarean SIS studies were reviewed: 105 after repeat CDs, 131 after lower-order CDs, and 41 after higher-order CDs. Technique A was associated with a shorter interval to imaging and more double-layer closures. Technique B was associated with more clinically significant niches across all subgroups, and these niches were significantly longer and deeper when present. Multiple logistic regression demonstrated a 5.6, 8.1, and 11-fold increased adjusted odds of clinically significant niche following Technique B closure in the repeat CD (p<0.01), lower-order CD (p<0.001), and higher-order CD (p=0.04) groups, respectively. Conclusions While multiple CDs are known to increase risk for niche defects and their sequelae, hysterotomy closure technique may help to reduce niche development and severity.","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138572632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ChatGPT, artificial intelligence and the <i>Journal of Perinatal Medicine</i>: correspondence.","authors":"Amnuay Kleebayoon, Viroj Wiwanitkit","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0314","DOIUrl":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0314","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"246"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138498578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Allan C Jenkinson, Theodore Dassios, Anne Greenough
{"title":"Artificial intelligence in the NICU to predict extubation success in prematurely born infants.","authors":"Allan C Jenkinson, Theodore Dassios, Anne Greenough","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0454","DOIUrl":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0454","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Mechanical ventilation in prematurely born infants, particularly if prolonged, can cause long term complications including bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Timely extubation then is essential, yet predicting its success remains challenging. Artificial intelligence (AI) may provide a potential solution.</p><p><strong>Content: </strong>A narrative review was undertaken to explore AI's role in predicting extubation success in prematurely born infants. Across the 11 studies analysed, the range of reported area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) for the selected prediction models was between 0.7 and 0.87. Only two studies implemented an external validation procedure. Comparison to the results of clinical predictors was made in two studies. One group reported a logistic regression model that outperformed clinical predictors on decision tree analysis, while another group reported clinical predictors outperformed their artificial neural network model (AUCs: ANN 0.68 vs. clinical predictors 0.86). Amongst the studies there was an heterogenous selection of variables for inclusion in prediction models, as well as variations in definitions of extubation failure.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Although there is potential for AI to enhance extubation success, no model's performance has yet surpassed that of clinical predictors.</p><p><strong>Outlook: </strong>Future studies should incorporate external validation to increase the applicability of the models to clinical settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"119-125"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138498577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Davide Calandra, Martina Mercaldi, Marika De Vito, Danilo Buca, Marco Liberati, Alessandra Lucidi, Giuseppe Rizzo, Francesco D'Antonio
{"title":"Comparison between trans-vaginal and trans-abdominal ultrasound examination of the cervix in the second trimester of pregnancy: a prospective study.","authors":"Davide Calandra, Martina Mercaldi, Marika De Vito, Danilo Buca, Marco Liberati, Alessandra Lucidi, Giuseppe Rizzo, Francesco D'Antonio","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0103","DOIUrl":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0103","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To compare transvaginal (TV) and trans-abdominal (TA) ultrasound assessment of cervical length (CL) at the time of the second-trimester scan for fetal anomalies.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a prospective study including consecutive pregnant women attending the low-risk ultrasound clinic of two fetal medicine centres in Italy. The inclusion criteria were women between 19 + 0 and 22 + 0 weeks of gestation, attending the prenatal ultrasound clinic for the routine second trimester screening for fetal anomalies. The primary outcome was to compare the CL measurement obtained at TV compared to TA ultrasound; the secondary outcome was to report the inter and intra-observer variability of CL measured with the two different approaches. All women underwent TV and TA assessment of the cervix performed by two experienced certified operators, blinded to each other. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analyses were used to analyse the data.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Two hundred and fifty women were included in the analysis. All women had anteverted uterus. The mean gestational age at ultrasound was 20.7 ± 0.7 weeks; 1.2 % (3/250) scans were performed at 19 weeks, 49.2 % (123/250) at 20 weeks, 44.8 % (112/250) at 21 weeks and 4.8 % (12/250) at 22 weeks of gestations. Identification of the major landmarks of CL at TA ultrasound was achieved in all the included cases. There was good reliability between CL measured at TA (ICC 0.95, 95 % CI 0.93-0.97 for observer 1 and 0.92 %, 95 % CI 0.89-0.94 for observer 2) and TV ultrasound 0.97, 95 % CI 0.96-0.98 for observer 1 and 0.96, 95 % CI 0.95-0.97 for observer 2). There was also good reliability between the two observers for both the TA and TV assessment of the CL. Mean TA CL was 41.4 ± 5.5 for observer 1 and 40.5 ± 4.8 for observer 2 with no significant differences between the two measurements (mean difference 0.92 mm, 95 % CI -9.7 to 11.2). Likewise, there was no difference between the CL measured at TV ultrasound between the two observers (mean difference -0.83 mm, 95 % CI -5.97 to 4.30). Finally, there was no difference in the mean CL measured at TA compared to TV, either considering the overall population of women (mean difference: -0.43, 955 CI -8.65 to 7.79), or when stratifying the analysis according to the parity status and the operator.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Among experienced operators, there was no difference between TV and TA ultrasound assessment of the CL at the time of the routine anomaly scan for fetal anomaly.</p>","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"76-80"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71521830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Serena Resta, Marika De Vito, Chiara Patelli, Jia Li Angela Lu, Gianluca Gabrielli, Erika Chiodo, Ilenia Mappa, Giuseppe Rizzo
{"title":"Validation of an automated software (Smartpelvic™) in assessing hiatal area from three dimensional transperineal pelvic volumes of pregnant women: comparison with manual analysis.","authors":"Serena Resta, Marika De Vito, Chiara Patelli, Jia Li Angela Lu, Gianluca Gabrielli, Erika Chiodo, Ilenia Mappa, Giuseppe Rizzo","doi":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0323","DOIUrl":"10.1515/jpm-2023-0323","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the agreement between a manual and an automatic technique in assessing levator hiatus area (LHA) during pregnancy from three-dimensional (3D) pelvic floor volumes obtained by trans-perineal ultrasound (TPUS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>3D volumes were acquired during rest, maximum pelvic floor contraction and Valsalva maneuver from 66 pregnant women. Manual selection of LHA and automatic software (Smart Pelvic™) were applied on TPUS volume starting from a C-plane view. To evaluate intra- and inter-observer variability measurements of LHA were performed twice by the same operator and once by a second sonographer. Reference hiatal contours obtained manually by the first operator were compared with the automated ones. Reproducibility was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>LHA measurement, using automatic software, achieved excellent intra-observer and inter-observer reproducibility in pregnant women both at rest and after dynamic analysis (ICC>0.9). Further, an excellent agreement resulted between manual selection of the LHA and automatic imaging (ICC>0.9). The average time taken to obtain LHA manually was significantly longer when compared to the automatic analysis (p≤0.0001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Smart pelvic software resulted from a reliable method for automatically measuring the LHA, showing high reproducibility and accuracy.</p>","PeriodicalId":16704,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Perinatal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"165-170"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71482667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}