The Utility of CO2 Laser Treatment of Pelvic Symptoms in Women with Previous Perineal Trauma during Delivery.

This study aimed to examine the impact of fractional CO2 laser treatment of pelvic symptoms in women who have undergone perineal trauma from vaginal delivery. It was a retrospective, monocentric analysis that encompassed all women assessed for pelvic discomfort or signs of vulvovaginal atrophy following vaginal delivery between 2013 and 2018. The severity of symptoms was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Twenty-seven patients met the inclusion criteria and were sorted into two groups: (1) women who had undergone episiotomies during labor (n = 11); and (2) women who had experienced spontaneous tears during vaginal delivery (n = 16). For women with episiotomies, each treatment and subsequent evaluation consistently showed a significant reduction in dyspareunia intensity. A similar positive trend was observed regarding pain at the introitus (7.5 vs. 6.5 after the first treatment, p = 0.03; 6.5 vs. 3 after the second treatment, p = 0.01; 3 vs. 1 after the third treatment, p = 0.01). Among women experiencing spontaneous perineal tears during delivery, there was a notable decrease in dyspareunia following all treatments (8 vs. 7 after the first treatment, p = 0.01; 8 vs. 4 after the second treatment, p = 0.02; 3 vs. 1 after the third treatment, p = 0.03). The impact of laser treatment did not exhibit significant differences between women who underwent episiotomies and those who experienced spontaneous perineal tears. In conclusion, fractional CO2 laser can be regarded as a non-pharmacological option for managing pelvic floor symptoms in women who encountered perineal trauma during delivery, independently from the nature, spontaneity, or iatrogenesis of the perineal laceration.

Results of a Five-Year Experience in First Trimester Preeclampsia Screening.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to evaluate the ability defining the risk of developing preeclampsia by a screening test carried out in the first trimester (between 11 + 0 and 13 + 6 weeks of gestational age), in order to identify high-risk women requiring more intensive health surveillance. The secondary objective was to evaluate the ability of this test to predict the risk of adverse obstetric outcomes such as fetal growth restriction, intrauterine fetal death, gestational hypertension, HELLP syndrome, placental abruption, and preterm birth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a single-center study, conducted at the Operative Unit of Obstetrics of the State Hospital of the Republic of San Marino. Medical history was collected at the time of enrolment in writing. Subsequently, obstetric outcomes were collected for each enrolled woman, through the analysis of medical records. RESULTS: From October 2014 to May 2019, 589 pregnant women were recruited, of whom, 474 (80.5%) were included in the "low-risk" group, and 115 (19.5%) in the "high-risk" group. At the time of analysis of this population, the obstetric outcomes were available for 498 women (84.5%), while 91 cases (15.5%) were current pregnancies. The PI of the uterine arteries was not significantly different between the two study groups. Otherwise, a significant difference was highlighted for MAP, which is higher in the case of pregnancies at high risk based on the risk factors only, and for PAPP-A, higher in the case of low-risk pregnancies. Regarding the percentage of fetal DNA, according to the most recent literature data, in our series, we report a statistically significant difference of the average between the low and high-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we demonstrate that the multiparametric screening test for early PE performed well in identifying women at high risk of early PE, which certainly has the most severe maternal-fetal outcomes. The data reported that ASA intake at low doses is significantly higher in the population with high-risk tests for both early PE and late PE suggest once again that anamnestic evaluation plays an essential role in women's screening.

First trimester screening for aneuploidy: may combined test and fetal DNA work together?

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the screening performance of combined test (based on the measurement of nuchal translucency, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A, free ß-human chorionic gonadotropin, and maternal age) and fetal DNA screening (NIPS) for trisomies 21 (T21), 18 (T18), and 13 (T13). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Women who accepted screening had a first-trimester combined test (pregnancy-associated plasma protein A, free ß-human chorionic gonadotropin, nuchal translucency interpreted with maternal age) and fetal DNA. RESULTS: Among 302 women screened (including 4 with affected pregnancies), our study demonstrated that DNA screening for trisomies 21, 18, and 13 achieved a detection rate of 100% with a false-positive rate of 0.02%, overcoming the traditional combined test with 75% of sensitivity and 4.7% of false-positive rate. In particular, fetal DNA may be useful in case of intermediate risk, in order to avoid invasive diagnostic procedures such villocentesis and amniocentesis. Because of fetal DNA costs, it can be used in clinical practice as a second step screening in case of intermediate or high risk at combined test. CONCLUSION: Fetal DNA screening may be successfully implemented in routine care, achieving a high detection rate, low false-positive rate, and, consequently, greater safety with fewer invasive diagnostic tests than other methods of screening.

Isolated Ovarian Endometrioma: A History Between Myth and Reality.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between ovarian endometriomas detectable at transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) and other specific extraovarian lesions including adhesions, deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), and adenomyosis. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Two university hospitals. PATIENTS: Two hundred fifty-five symptomatic women with at least 1 ovarian endometrioma found on ultrasound after presentation with pain or irregular menstruation. INTERVENTIONS: Patients underwent TVS followed by either medical or surgical treatment. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-five women, aged 20 to 40 years, underwent TVS and were found to have at least 1 endometrioma with a diameter > 20 mm. Associated sonographic signs of pelvic endometriosis (adhesions, DIE, and adenomyosis) were recorded, and a subgroup of patients (n = 50) underwent laparoscopic surgery within 3 months of TVS. Mean endometrioma diameter was 40.0 ± 18.1 mm, and bilateral endometriomas were observed in 65 patients (25.5%). TVS showed posterior rectal DIE in 55 patients (21.5%) and a thickening of at least 1 uterosacral ligament in 93 patients (36.4%). One hundred eighty-six patients (73%) had adhesions, and 134 patients (53%) showed signs of myometrial adenomyosis on TVS. Thirty-eight patients (15%) exhibited only a single isolated endometrioma with a mobile ovary and no other signs of pelvic endometriosis/adenomyosis at TVS. CONCLUSION: Ovarian endometriomas are indicators for pelvic endometriosis and are rarely isolated. Particularly, left endometriomas were found to be associated with rectal DIE and left uterosacral ligament localization and bilateral endometriomas correlated with adhesions and pouch of Douglas obliteration, whereas no correlation was found between endometrioma size and DIE. Determining appropriate management, whether clinical or surgical, is critical for ovarian endometriomas and concomitant adhesions, endometriosis, and adenomyosis in patients desiring future fertility.

Complications during pregnancy and delivery in women with untreated rectovaginal deep infiltrating endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE: To study outcomes and complications during pregnancy and at delivery in women with a posterior deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) nodule persisting after surgery and diagnosed at transvaginal sonography (TVS) in comparison with a control group of women without endometriosis. DESIGN: Multicenter observational and cohort study. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): Women (n = 200) with a posterior DIE nodule equal or more than 2 cm centimeters in size who desired a pregnancy and a control group of women (n = 300) with no previous recorded diagnosis of endometriosis who delivered in our clinic during the same time period. INTERVENTION(S): Patient data collected from medical charts and by phone interviews. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Evaluation of complications during pregnancy and delivery. RESULT(S): Of the 101 women with a posterior DIE nodule, 52 become pregnant among whom 25 used assisted reproductive technology. Of these 52 pregnancies, 11 ended in an early abortion, and 41 delivered a baby; 13 (31.7%) had a premature delivery, 7 (17.8%) a placenta praevia, and 28 (68.2%) had a cesarean delivery. When compared with the control group, the women with endometriosis had a higher risk of pregnancy complicated by preterm birth, placenta previa, placental abruption, and hypertension. Cesarean delivery and complications during surgery (hysterectomy, hemoperitoneum, and bladder injuries) were statistically significantly more frequent in women with endometriosis than in controls. CONCLUSION(S): Women with an incomplete removal of posterior DIE have a high complications rate during pregnancy and delivery.

Uterine junctional zone at three-dimensional transvaginal ultrasonography in patients with recurrent miscarriage: a new diagnostic tool?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the characteristics of the uterine junctional zone (JZ) by three-dimensional (3D) transvaginal sonography (TVS) in women with recurrent miscarriage (RM) as compared to normal fertile controls. STUDY DESIGN: The thickness and the morphology of the JZ were evaluated in 75 women with a history of RM due to different causes and in 20 fertile women without a history of miscarriages or pelvic disease. All patients included in the study were selected among those who attended the outpatient clinic of "Tor Vergata" University. The JZ characteristics were evaluated in the midluteal phase of the cycle on the uterine coronal section obtained by 3D TVS. RESULTS: Patients with RM showed a JZ maximum thickness significantly increased when compared to that observed in control group (5.8±0.7 vs. 5.0±1.1mm). When grouped according to the different causes of RM, all groups of patients with RM showed an increased JZ thickness when compared to fertile women, with the exception of those with anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome, probably due to the small number of cases with this pathology. CONCLUSIONS: A thickened JZ could be an independent indicator of the risk of miscarriage and may represent an important contributing factor to some causes of RM. These observations may offer new perspectives for the screening and treatment of patients with RM. Although further studies are needed to ascertain if the reduction of the JZ thickness can determine a better pregnancy outcome, 3D TVS evaluation of the JZ could provide the opportunity to identify women in which appropriate therapeutic protocols can improve the possibility of successful pregnancy.

The uterine junctional zone: a 3-dimensional ultrasound study of patients with endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE: The uterine junctional zone (JZ) alterations are correlated with adenomyosis. An accurate evaluation of the JZ may be obtained by 3-dimensional transvaginal sonography (TVS). The aim of the present prospective study was to assess the value of detectable alterations by 3-dimensional TVS of the JZ in patients with pelvic endometriosis (diagnosed by laparoscopy and histologic condition) and to compare these findings with those of women without pelvic endometriosis. STUDY DESIGN: Eighty-two patients who were scheduled for laparoscopy had undergone previous surgery and 2- and 3-dimensional TVS. Uterine multiplanar sections that were obtained by 3-dimensional TVS were used to evaluate JZ features. During laparoscopy, an accurate staging of pelvic endometriosis was performed. JZ thickness and JZ alterations were correlated with stage of endometriosis. RESULTS: Of the 82 patients, 59 patients had endometriosis at laparoscopy and histology. The maximum thickness of JZ in patients with endometriosis was significantly greater than in patients without endometriosis (6.5 ± 1.9 mm vs 4.8 ± 1.0 mm; P < .001). The features of JZ appeared similar at different stages, whereas they are statistically different if correlated with patients without endometriosis. CONCLUSION: JZ thickness and its alterations are different in patients with endometriosis compared with those women without endometriosis and are not correlated with American Society of Reproductive Medicine staging methods. Because these JZ ultrasound features are associated mostly with adenomyosis, a correlation between endometriosis and JZ hyperplasia and adenomyosis could be hypothesized. Noninvasive evaluation of the JZ may be useful in the identification of those women who are affected by endometriosis also in early stage of the disease when there are no other sonographic signs of pelvic endometriosis.

Further evidence on the role of thyroid autoimmunity in women with recurrent miscarriage.

It has been twenty years since the first paper reporting the association between thyroid antibodies (TAIs) and spontaneous miscarriage was published. Following this observation, several studies have clearly demonstrated an increased prevalence of TAI in patients with recurrent miscarriage (RM). However, the exact mechanism underlying this association remains a matter of debate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the thyroid function, throughout a specific test, in patient with RM and TAI focusing on the hypothesis that TAI should be an indirect sign of a mild thyroid dysfunction. 46 patients with RM and TAI were included in the study. All patients underwent short TRH stimulation test showing an abnormal response in the vast majority of cases (65%). Normal FT4 and FT3 mean values were found whereas TSH values were in the upper normal range (2.64 ± 1.3 mUI/L). Our data support the hypothesis that in patients with RM the presence of TAI is an indirect sign of a subtle thyroid dysfunction detectable by a specific test. This test give the possibility to identify women with RM in which specific therapeutic approaches could effectively improve the possibility for a successful pregnancy.