Uterine transplantation and IVF for congenital or acquired uterine factor infertility: A systematic review of safety and efficacy outcomes in the first 52 recipients.

Uterine transplantation (UTx) associated with IVF restores fertility in women affected by absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI). Pregnancies achieved both in women undergoing any solid organ transplantation and following IVF are associated with an increased risk of maternal and neonatal complications. This systematic review evaluated this risk in UTx-IVF treated women focusing on the safety and efficacy features of the treatment. Twenty-two studies and three press releases reporting on 52 UTx-IVF treatments were identified. Regarding the safety of treatment, 38/52 (73,1%) of surgical procedures led to the restoration of uterine function in recipients, 12/52 (23,1%) of recipients experienced post-operative complications requiring hysterectomy, and 2/52 (3,8%) of procedures failed before uterine recipients' surgery due to intra-operative complications. Regarding the efficacy of treatment, results focused on transplanted patients showing full recovery of organ functioning: 16/38 (42,1%) of patients achieved a pregnancy, including two women who gave births twice. UTx-IVF pregnancies led to 16 deliveries and all new-borns were healthy. Six out of 16 (37,5%) UTx pregnancies faced major complications during gestation. Preterm births occurred in 10/16 (62,5%) UTx deliveries. Our data indicates that the risk of gestational and delivery complications deserves important consideration in AUFI women receiving UTx-IVF treatments. However, these observations are preliminary and need to be revised after larger series of data are published.

Sonographic fetal weight estimation in normal and overweight/obese healthy term pregnant women by gestation-adjusted projection (GAP) method.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to assess the ultrasound accuracy in fetal weight estimation related to the time distance between the actual weight recorded at delivery and the period of sonography among normal and overweight/obese pregnant women within 3 weeks prior birth at term. METHODS: Four-hundred and ninety patients with healthy pregnancy were studied in a cohort study. The absolute percent error in estimation was achieved by gestation-adjusted projection method from Hadlock model for weight calculation as measure of accuracy. The mean percentage error variation over the weeks was correlated to maternal body mass index (BMI, Kg/m(2)) at ultrasound. The relationship between BMI and ultrasound performance was assessed by linear regression. RESULTS: The overall proportion of supposed sonographic estimated fetal weight at birth within ±10 % of the birth weight significantly declines over the weeks (P = .016). The trend toward a progressive deterioration in ultrasound accuracy is not statistically significant for normal weight women (P = .272) but it is for over-weight/obese (P = .044). On univariate analysis, the absolute percent error and absolute error are positively related to BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Accuracy is related to the week at ultrasound scan with a gradual deterioration over the time and it worsens with increasing distance in days between the date of ultrasounds and delivery. The deterioration is greater for BMI ≥ 25.

Intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring: evaluation of a standardized system of interpretation for prediction of metabolic acidosis at delivery and neonatal neurological morbidity.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the ability of the intrapartum fetal heart rate interpretation system developed in 2008 by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to predict fetal metabolic acidosis at delivery and neonatal neurological morbidity. METHODS: We analyzed the intrapartum fetal heart rate tracings of 314 singleton fetuses at ≥ 37 weeks using the NICHD three-tier system of interpretation: Category I (normal), Category II (indeterminate) and Category III (abnormal). Category II was further divided into Category IIA, with moderate fetal heart rate variability or accelerations, and Category IIB, with minimal/absent fetal heart rate variability and no accelerations. The presence and duration of the different patterns were compared with several clinical neonatal outcomes and with umbilical artery acid-base balance at birth. RESULTS: The mean values of pH and base excess decreased proportionally as tracings worsened (p < 0.001). The duration of at least 30 min for Category III tracings was highly predictive of a pH <7.00 and a base excess ≤-12 mmol/L. The same was true for the duration of Category IIB tracings that lasted for at least 50 min. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that the interpretation of fetal heart rate tracings based on a strictly standardized system is closely associated with umbilical artery acid-base status at delivery.

Retrospective analysis on the efficacy of corticosteroid prophylaxis prior to elective caesarean section to reduce neonatal respiratory complications at term of pregnancy: review of literature.

PURPOSE: Our purpose was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to determine whether synthetic pharmaceutical glucocorticoids (betamethasone and dexamethasone) are safe as well as effective in reducing neonatal respiratory morbidity at term of pregnancy prior to elective caesarean section. The overall incidence of respiratory disorders is estimated at 2.8%, and the main risk factors are gestational age and mode of delivery. Newborns delivered by elective caesarean section (CS after 37 weeks) are more susceptible to serious respiratory complications than babies born by vaginal delivery. Neonatal respiratory morbidity at term of pregnancy is low but not negligible. Further, it is increasing due to a drastic decline in trial of labour in those pregnant women who underwent a caesarean section in the past. Because prophylaxis is inexpensive, easy to administer, and safe, other studies should be conducted to confirm its effectiveness. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of literature since 1965 on the discovery of action mechanisms, pharmaceutical development, proper dosage, and potential side effects of corticosteroids on the mother and offspring to extrapolate their efficacy as no clinical trial has directly demonstrated it. RESULTS: We extrapolated no negative effects on mother and foetus behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Human studies suggest that corticosteroid administration may become a proper clinical indication prior to caesarean section in the reduction of neonatal respiratory problems.

Bose-Glass phases of ultracold atoms due to cavity backaction.

We determine the quantum ground-state properties of ultracold bosonic atoms interacting with the mode of a high-finesse resonator. The atoms are confined by an external optical lattice, whose period is incommensurate with the cavity mode wavelength, and are driven by a transverse laser, which is resonant with the cavity mode. While for pointlike atoms photon scattering into the cavity is suppressed, for sufficiently strong lasers quantum fluctuations can support the buildup of an intracavity field, which in turn amplifies quantum fluctuations. The dynamics is described by a Bose-Hubbard model where the coefficients due to the cavity field depend on the atomic density at all lattice sites. Quantum Monte Carlo simulations and mean-field calculations show that, for large parameter regions, cavity backaction forces the atoms into clusters with a checkerboard density distribution. Here, the ground state lacks superfluidity and possesses finite compressibility, typical of a Bose glass. This system constitutes a novel setting where quantum fluctuations give rise to effects usually associated with disorder.

17alpha-hydroxy-progesterone effects on cervical proinflammatory agents in women at risk for preterm delivery.

We evaluated if the inhibitory effect of 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17P) on cervical ripening is mediated by cervical proinflammatory agents. Women with singleton pregnancy and intact membranes, between 25 and 33 weeks + 6 days, were randomly allocated either to observation (22 cases, controls) or to receive 341 mg of intramuscular 17P (23 cases, 17P group), twice a week, until 36 weeks. Just before randomization, 7 and 21 days later, a cervical swab for interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), and nitrates/nitrites (NOx) assays was collected. Moreover, an ultrasound measure of cervical length (CL) was performed at the same time. At randomization, both groups of women showed similar levels of cervical ILs and NOx. In the 17P group, cervical IL-1beta levels were significantly decreased at day 21 ( P = 0.036); in controls, they remained stable throughout the observation period. There was no significant change in IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha, and NOx in either group. Women in the control group had a progressive CL shortening until day 21 (median shortening of 4 mm), and this shortening was significantly less in the 17P group (median shortening of 2 mm; P = 0.017). In patients at risk of preterm labor, high-dose 17P simultaneously inhibits both cervical proinflammatory IL-1beta secretion and the progressive shortening of the cervix.

Cervical length changes during preterm cervical ripening: effects of 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17P) treatment affect changes in cervical length. STUDY DESIGN: Women with singleton pregnancy, between 25 and 33 + 6 weeks of gestation, who were hospitalized for preterm labor were included. Patients with rupture of membranes and/or signs of chorioamnionitis were excluded. Sixty undelivered patients were allocated randomly to either observation or to receive 341 mg of 17P intramuscularly, twice each week until gestational week 36. Cervical length was measured by transvaginal ultrasound scanning at discharge and at day 7 and 21 after discharge. Statistical comparisons were done with analysis of variance and chi-square test. RESULTS: Shortening of the cervix in the observation group (30 cases) was higher than in the 17P group (30 cases) both at day 7 (2.37 +/- 2.0 mm vs 0.83 +/- 1.74 mm; P = .002) and day 21 (4.60 +/- 2.73 mm vs 2.40 +/- 2.46 mm; P = .002). Treatment with 17P was associated with both a reduction in the risk of cervical shortening of > or = 4 mm (odds ratio, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.04-0.66) and in the risk of preterm delivery (odds ratio, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.04-0.58). CONCLUSION: Undelivered patients after preterm labor undergo progressive shortening of the cervix, which is attenuated by 17P treatment.