Loop electrosurgical excision procedure and risk of vaginal infections during pregnancy: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk for preterm birth associated with vaginal infections in pregnancies after a loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP), compared with women with no prior LEEP. DESIGN: Multicentre retrospective cohort study. SETTING: USA. POPULATION: Women with LEEP between 1996 and 2006 were compared with two unexposed groups who had cervical biopsy or Pap test, without any other cervical procedure, in the same calendar year. METHODS: The first pregnancy progressing beyond 20 weeks of gestation in women with prior LEEP was compared with pregnancy in women without LEEP. Stratified analysis according to the presence or the absence of vaginal infection during pregnancy was used to investigate whether the risk for preterm birth differed according to the presence or the absence of infection. The interaction between LEEP and vaginal infection was investigated using multivariable logistic regression with interaction terms, as well as the Mantel-Haenszel test for homogeneity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Spontaneous preterm birth (<37 and <34 weeks of gestation). RESULTS: Of 1727 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 34.4% (n = 598) underwent LEEP prior to an index pregnancy. There was no increased risk for vaginal infections among women with LEEP compared with women without LEEP. Chlamydia infection and LEEP demonstrated significant interaction, suggesting that the presence of chlamydia infection in women with a history of LEEP augments the risk for preterm birth, compared with women with no history of LEEP. CONCLUSIONS: Vaginal infections during pregnancy in women with a history of LEEP may be associated with an increased risk for preterm birth, compared with women with no history of LEEP.

First-trimester growth discordance and adverse pregnancy outcome in dichorionic twins.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between first-trimester growth discordance and adverse pregnancy outcome in dichorionic twin pregnancies. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of consecutive women with dichorionic twin pregnancies undergoing an ultrasound scan at our institution between 7 and 14 weeks' gestation. Study groups were defined by the presence or absence of ≥ 11% crown-rump length (CRL) discordance. Pregnancies were excluded if one twin was dead on initial ultrasound or if a termination was performed. The primary outcome was loss of one or both fetuses before 20 weeks. Secondary outcomes included fetal anomaly, fetal demise after 20 weeks (stillbirth), small-for-gestational-age (SGA) at birth, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and preterm delivery before 34 weeks. RESULTS: Of 805 dichorionic twin pregnancies undergoing first-trimester ultrasound, 610 met the inclusion criteria. Eighty-six had ≥ 11% CRL discordance and, of these, nine (10.5%) had a fetal loss at < 20 weeks (risk ratio (RR) 7.8 (95% CI, 3.0-20.5)). In the surviving pregnancies, an increased risk of fetal anomalies was seen (27.3 vs 17.4%, RR 1.6 (95% CI, 1.1-2.4)). In surviving pregnancies unaffected by anomalies, no increased risk of stillbirth, SGA, NICU admission or delivery before 34 weeks was noted in the discordant group. A post-hoc power analysis demonstrated 80% power to detect a five-fold increase in the risk of stillbirth and 90% power to detect a two-fold increase in other outcomes. CONCLUSION: Dichorionic pregnancies in which a CRL discordance of at least 11% is noted are at increased risk for fetal anomalies and fetal loss prior to 20 weeks' gestation. However, patients can be reassured that, in the absence of structural anomalies, CRL discordance does not appear to be associated with other adverse outcomes in continuing pregnancies, although the power to detect small increases in the risk of stillbirth may have been limited by the sample size.

Screening for fetal growth disorders by clinical exam in the era of obesity.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of clinical estimation of fetal weight as a screening test for fetal growth disorders and then to estimate the effect of maternal body mass index (BMI) on its screening efficiency. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients referred for third trimester ultrasound for the indication of 'size unequal to dates'. Patients with medical co-morbidities that may alter their a priori risk for fetal growth disorders were excluded. The incidence of fetal growth disorders as well as amniotic fluid disturbances was determined for each group and then compared across maternal BMI categories of <25 kg m(-2), 25-30 kg m(-2), ≥ 30 kg m(-2) and ≥ 40 kg m(-2). To evaluate the accuracy of clinical estimation of fetal weight in predicting fetal growth disorders, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, likelihood ratios, as well as number needed to scan (NNS) was calculated and compared across BMI categories. RESULT: Of 51366 patients, 1623 were referred for the indication of size>dates and 1543 for the indication of size90th percentile and 13.5 and 96.7% for predicting BW<10th percentile. The NNS to detect one neonate with a BW<10th percentile ranged from 5 to 19, whereas the NNS to detect one neonate with a BW>90th percentile ranged from 6 to 13 across BMI categories. CONCLUSION: Overall, clinical estimation of fetal weight yields a low detection rate of fetal growth abnormalities; however, its screening efficiency is not adversely impacted by maternal BMI.