Effect of Sjögren's syndrome on maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancy.

Background Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease affecting the body's moisture-producing glands. Some studies have linked SS to adverse maternal/neonatal outcomes, but sample sizes have tended to be small, with few outcomes examined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of SS on pregnancy outcomes for mother and neonate using a large dataset. Methods We carried out a retrospective cohort study of women who delivered between 1999 and 2014 using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from the United States. SS categorization is based on ICD-9 coding. Baseline characteristics were compared in both groups and multivariate logistic regression was used to compare maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancies in women with and without SS. Results The prevalence of SS in our population was 1.34 cases/10,000 births, with the rate increasing over the study period. Women with SS tended to be older, Caucasian and to have pre-existing comorbidities. Births to women with SS were at greater risk of pre-eclampsia [odds ratio (OR) 1.63, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34-1.99]; premature rupture of membranes (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04-1.57); preterm delivery (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.34-1.81); cesarean delivery (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.17-1.41); and venous thromboembolic events (OR 3.71, 95% CI 2.57-5.35). Infants of women with SS were more likely to have intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (OR 3.00, 95% CI 2.46-3.65); and congenital malformations (OR 3.26, 95% CI 2.30-4.62). Conclusion SS is a high-risk pregnancy condition associated with significant comorbidities and adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Women with SS may benefit from increased surveillance during their pregnancies.

Effect of celiac disease on maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancy.

PURPOSE: Celiac disease (CD) is a permanent immune reaction to gluten that is likely related to genetic factors. Some studies have linked CD to adverse maternal and/or neonatal outcomes but the data has been contradictory. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of CD on pregnancy outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) of the USA to conduct a population-based retrospective cohort study of women who delivered between 1999 and 2014. Pregnancies were categorized as having CD if corresponding ICD-9 code was present. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to estimate the adjusted effect on maternal and fetal outcomes. RESULTS: There were 14,513,587 births during the study period of which 2755 were to women with CD, for an overall prevalence of 1.9 cases/10,000 births and with rates increasing over the study period. Women with CD tended to be older, Caucasian and to have pre-existing comorbidities, especially other autoimmune diseases. Women with CD were at greater risk of hyperemesis gravidarum, 4.52 (3.68-5.57), Clostridium difficile colitis, 7.56 (3.14-18.20), and venous thromboembolic events, 2.93 (2.07-4.15), as well as, hospital stays >3 d, 2.06 (1.75-2.43). Infants of women with CD were more likely to be growth restricted, 1.80 (1.46-2.21) and have congenital malformations, 3.51 (2.68-4.58). CONCLUSIONS: CD in pregnancy is associated with increased adverse maternal and newborn complications. These pregnancies should be considered high risk and may benefit from increased surveillance.

Recurrent hospitalisations in a rare case of hemicorporectomy: a challenging case for medical management.

Hemicorporectomy, or translumbar amputation, is a radical surgery involving the dissection of the body at the waist and is usually reserved for complex medical conditions including locally invasive malignancy and terminal pelvic osteomyelitis. Only 71 cases have previously been reported. We present a rare case of hemicorporectomy in a 53-year-old patient with terminal pelvic osteomyelitis which occurred after he suffered a gunshot wound at T6 causing paraplegia at the age of 31. Unfortunately, this patient continued to suffer recurrent hospitalisations and sepsis events secondary to chronic, non-healing advanced pressure ulcers and complicated urinary tract infections despite repeated courses of broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and surgical debridements. In light of his diminished quality of life and poor prognosis, the patient's family chose to manage his condition conservatively with home hospice. This case illustrates the significant challenges in the medical and surgical management of hemicorporectomy patients.

Sources of variance within and among young men in concentrations of 17ß-estradiol and testosterone in axillary perspiration.

The most potent estrogen, 17ß-estradiol (E2), and its precursor, testosterone (T), play critical roles in mammalian reproductive processes. Evidence indicates that these steroids are present in bioactive form in the excretions of many male mammals. It has been demonstrated that small lipophilic steroids such as E2 can be absorbed by proximate females from male excretions, arriving in the uterus, brain, and other organs where there are estrogen receptors. We took repeated samples of axillary perspiration from men aged 20-30years during vigorous exercise. Both steroids were consistently measurable, with concentrations that ranged from values comparable to those in facial perspiration and urine of both men and women to values that greatly exceeded concentrations observed in any other substrate of men and women. Inter-individual variance in axillary E2 was positively correlated with the extent of intimate experience with women, as assessed by a questionnaire, but unrelated to subjective measures of stress, exercise habits, or phytoestrogen content of diet. In addition, higher levels of axillary E2 were observed in participants when samples were collected by a female (as compared to a male) experimenter. These data are concordant with an hypothesis that male excretion of sex steroids could exert pro-reproductive influences on proximate females.