Total alkaline phosphatase levels by gestational age in a large sample of pregnant women.

INTRODUCTION: Total alkaline phosphatase (tALP) levels rise physiologically in maternal serum during pregnancy, and excessively so in certain conditions. However, current reference values are dated, nonlinear, and based on small samples. Factors related to variation in tALP remain unexplained. Thus, our goals in this study were to establish a physiological development curve for tALP within low-risk pregnancies and to evaluate the factors influencing tALP values. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study. All patients who delivered a live singleton infant at our center from January 1, 2011 to May 31, 2019, and had a tALP assay during pregnancy, were included regardless of the gestational age at which the assay was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 2415 pregnancies were included. Median tALP decreased during the first trimester, it increased slightly during the second trimester, and then increased sharply during the third trimester. Factors associated with a significant increase in tALP were chronic histiocytic intervillositis, cholestasis, multiple pregnancies, liver disease, preeclampsia, smoking, and low weight for gestational age. Conversely, gestational diabetes was associated with a discrete decrease in tALP. DISCUSSION: Our large sample allowed establishment of tALP reference curves based on gestational age. To interpret these results more thoroughly, factors that influence tALP rates should be further scrutinized.

Perinatal outcome of placental massive perivillous fibrin deposition: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the study are to describe the obstetric outcomes associated with massive perivillous fibrin deposition (MFD) compared with a control series and to determine if outcome differs according to the extent of fibrin deposition. METHOD: Retrospective case-control study based on placentas analyzed over a consecutive 12-year period. MFD was considered severe if it extended over more than 50% of the placenta and moderate between 25% and 50%. RESULTS: During the study period, MFD was observed on 71 placentas, 39 severe and 32 moderate. Compared with the 142 control women, the 39 women with severe MFD more often had histories of autoimmune disease and intrauterine fetal death. The case women with MFD were associated with elevated levels of maternal alpha-fetoprotein and with a high risk of severe growth restriction and/or intrauterine death. Compared with the infants with moderate MFD, those with severe MFD had also more abnormal umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry findings and more often intrauterine deaths and lower birthweights. CONCLUSION: Regardless of their extent, MFD that covered at least 25% of the placenta was almost always accompanied by severe growth restriction and by a high risk of intrauterine fetal death. Moreover, severe MFD tend to be associated with autoimmune diseases of the mothers, and pregnancies show more often a pathologic Doppler of the umbilical arteries and more often intrauterine fetal death that the moderate form. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Chronic histiocytic intervillositis: outcome, associated diseases and treatment in a multicenter prospective study.

UNLABELLED: Introduction: In this prospective multicenter study, we aimed to describe (1) the outcome of pregnancy in the case of previous chronic histiocytic intervillositis (CHI), (2) the immunological findings and associated diseases, (3) the treatments, and (4) the factors associated with pregnancy loss. METHODS: We prospectively included all patients with a prior CHI with ongoing pregnancy between 2011 and 2013. RESULTS: Twenty-four women (age 34±5 years) were included in this study. An autoimmune disease was present in seven (29%) cases. Twenty-one prospective pregnancies were treated. The number of live births was more frequent comparatively to the previous obstetrical issues (16/24 versus 24/76; p=0.003). Most of the pregnancies were treated (88%), whereas only 13% of previous pregnancies were treated (p<0.05). No difference was found with respect to the pregnancy outcome in the different treatment regimens. In univariate analyses, a prior history of intrauterine death and intrauterine growth restriction and the presence of CHI in prospective placentas were associated with failure to have a live birth. DISCUSSION: In this multicenter study, we show the frequency of the associated autoimmune diseases in CHI, as well as the presence of autoantibodies without characterized autoimmune disease. The number of live births increased from 32% to 67% in the treated pregnancies. Despite the treatment intervention, the risk of preterm delivery remained at 30%. Last, we show that the recurrence rate of an adverse pregnancy outcome persisted at 30% despite treatment intervention. CONCLUSION: CHI is associated with high recurrence rate and the combined regimen seems to be necessary, in particular, in the presence of previous intrauterine death.