Maternal and neonatal outcomes in women with history of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy outcomes in women with pre-existing coronary artery disease (CAD) are poorly described. There is a paucity of data therefore on which to base clinical management to counsel women, with regard to both maternal and neonatal outcomes. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective multicentre study of women with established CAD delivering at 16 UK specialised cardiac obstetric clinics. We included pregnancies of 24 weeks' gestation or more, delivered between January 1998 and October 2018. Data were collected on maternal cardiovascular, obstetric and neonatal events. RESULTS: 79 women who had 92 pregnancies (94 babies including two sets of twins) were identified. 35.9% had body mass index >30% and 24.3% were current smokers. 18/79 (22.8%) had prior diabetes, 27/79 (34.2%) had dyslipidaemia and 21/79 (26.2%) had hypertension. The underlying CAD was due to atherosclerosis in 52/79 (65.8%), spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) in 11/79 (13.9%), coronary artery spasm in 7/79 (8.9%) and thrombus in 9/79 (11.4%).There were six adverse cardiac events (6.6% event rate), one non-ST elevation myocardial infarction at 23 weeks' gestation, two SCAD recurrences (one at 26 weeks' gestation and one at 9 weeks' postpartum), one symptomatic deterioration in left ventricular function and two women with worsening angina. 14% of women developed pre-eclampsia, 25% delivered preterm and 25% of infants were born small for gestational age. CONCLUSION: Women with established CAD have relatively low rates of adverse cardiac events in pregnancy. Rates of adverse obstetric and neonatal events are greater, highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary care.

Maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by Marfan syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: Information to guide counselling and management for pregnancy in women with Marfan syndrome (MFS) is limited. We therefore conducted a UK multicentre study. METHODS: Retrospective observational study of women with MFS delivering between January 1998 and March 2018 in 12 UK centres reporting data on maternal and neonatal outcomes. RESULTS: In total, there were 258 pregnancies in 151 women with MFS (19 women had prior aortic root replacements), including 226 pregnancies ≥24 weeks (two sets of twins), 20 miscarriages and 12 pregnancy terminations. Excluding miscarriages and terminations, there were 221 live births in 139 women. Only 50% of women received preconception counselling. There were no deaths, but five women experienced aortic dissection (1.9%; one type A and four type B-one had a type B dissection at 12 weeks and subsequent termination of pregnancy). Five women required cardiac surgery postpartum. No predictors for aortic dissection could be identified. The babies of the 131 (65.8%) women taking beta-blockers were on average 316 g lighter (p<0.001). Caesarean section rates were high (50%), particularly in women with dilated aortic roots. In 55 women, echocardiographic aortic imaging was available prepregnancy and postpregnancy; there was a small but significant average increase in AoR size of 0.84 mm (Median follow-up 2.3 months) CONCLUSION: There were no maternal deaths, and the aortic dissection rate was 1.9% (mainly type B). There with no identifiable factors associated with aortic dissection in our cohort. Preconception counselling rates were low and need improvement. Aortic size measurements increased marginally following pregnancy.

Prenatal Diagnosis of Rare Familial Unbalanced Translocation of Chromosomes 7 and 12.

Case Details. We report rare familial unbalanced translocation of chromosomes 7 and 12, which was diagnosed prenatally at 20+3 weeks of gestation. Woman's partner had been tested in the past and was found to be a carrier of a balanced translocation; his karyotype showed a balanced reciprocal translocation of 46, XY, t(7;12)(q34;q24,32). Partner's brother had an unbalanced form of the translocation with severe learning disability. The diagnosis of the anomaly was based on two- and three-dimensional ultrasound and microarray analysis. Ultrasonography findings included fetal microcephaly and alobar holoprosencephaly, dysmorphic face (flat occiput, absent nasal bone, microphthalmia, hypotelorism, and single nostril), and hyperechogenic bowel. Genome-wide array analysis and cytogenetic results from the amniotic fluid showed unbalanced translocation in chromosomes 7 and 12 with deletion of an approximately 16.5 Mb and a duplication of 6.1 Mb, respectively, Arr 7q34q36.3(142,668,576-159,161,648)x1,12q24.32q24.33(127,708,720-133,777,560)x3, karyotype (der (7) t(7;12) (q34;q24)pat). This unbalanced translocation was due to the segregation of the father's balanced translocation. In this particular case, the recurrence of an unbalanced translocation in the subsequent pregnancies is estimated to be 20%. Understanding the individuals' phenotype in association with the gain and loss of copy number is important and can further provide us with information on that particular region of the named chromosomes.

Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein in normal pregnancy at 11-13 weeks' gestation.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a reference distribution of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) at 11-13 weeks' gestation and define the contribution of maternal variables that influence the measured concentration of AFP. METHODS: Serum concentration of AFP at 11-13 weeks was measured in 1,500 singleton pregnancies which were not complicated by hypertensive disorders or diabetes mellitus and resulted in the live birth at or after 37 weeks of phenotypically normal neonates with birth weights above the 5th and below the 95th percentile. Multiple regression analysis was used to account for maternal characteristics that influence the measured concentration of AFP and a distribution of log multiples of the median (MoM) values was fitted. RESULTS: Log(10) AFP increased with gestational age, decreased with maternal weight and was significantly affected by maternal racial origin, smoking status and method of conception. Compared with values in Caucasian women who were non-smokers and conceived spontaneously, AFP MoM was on average 23% higher in Afro-Caribbeans and 8% lower in East Asians, 11% higher in smokers and 10% higher in those conceiving by in vitro fertilization. CONCLUSION: In normal pregnancies at 11-13 weeks, serum AFP increases with gestational age and is affected by maternal race, weight, smoking status and method of conception.

Body mass index at 11-13 weeks' gestation and pregnancy complications.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) at 11-13 weeks' gestation and a wide range of adverse pregnancy outcomes after adjustment for confounding factors in obstetric history and maternal characteristics. METHODS: This was a prospective screening study for adverse obstetric outcomes in women with singleton pregnancies attending for their first routine hospital visit at 11(+0)-13(+6) weeks of gestation. The maternal weight and height were measured and the BMI was calculated. Regression analysis was performed to examine the association between BMI and each of the adverse pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: We examined 41,577 pregnancies with a live fetus at 11-13 weeks. There was a significant contribution from maternal BMI, in addition to maternal characteristics and obstetric history, in the prediction of subsequent miscarriage, stillbirth, preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus, delivery of small and large for gestational age neonates, and both elective and emergency cesarean section, but not spontaneous preterm delivery. The risk for each pregnancy complication increased exponentially with BMI, except for delivery of small for gestational age neonates which decreased with BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal BMI at 11-13 weeks can be combined with other maternal characteristics and obstetric history to estimate patient-specific risks for many pregnancy complications.

First-trimester screening for trisomy 21 using alpha-fetoprotein.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential value of adding maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) to free ß-human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) and PAPP-A and fetal nuchal translucency (NT) thickness in first-trimester screening for trisomy 21. METHODS: In this case control study, serum AFP was measured in 100 trisomy 21 and 1,500 euploid pregnancies in which screening for trisomy 21 had been performed by a combination of serum free ß-hCG and PAPP-A and fetal NT at 11-13 weeks' gestation. We examined the effect of adding AFP on the performance of screening by the combined test. RESULTS: In the trisomy 21 pregnancies, the median multiple of the normal median AFP, adjusted for gestational age, maternal weight, racial origin, smoking status and method of conception, was significantly reduced (0.7037, 95% CI: 0.6398-0.7739). Adding AFP to the combined test improved the performance of screening and for a risk cut-off of 1 in 100, the false-positive rate was reduced from 2.8 by 0.4% (95% CI: 0.13-0.77%) without a significant change in detection rate. CONCLUSIONS: Inclusion of serum AFP improves the performance of the first-trimester combined test in screening for trisomy 21.

Is gynaecological surgical training a cause for concern?: a questionnaire survey of trainees and trainers.

BACKGROUND: Concerns have been raised as to whether the current postgraduate training programme for gynaecological surgery is being detrimentally affected by changes in working practices, in particular the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the surgical activity of obstetrics and gynaecology trainees and to explore trainees' and trainers' opinions on the current barriers and potential solutions to surgical training. METHODS: Two questionnaire surveys were conducted, one to obstetrics and gynaecology trainees working within the West Midlands Deanery and a second to consultant gynaecologists in the West Midlands region. RESULTS: One hundred and four trainees (64.3%) and 66 consultant gynaecologists (55.0%) responded. Sixty-six trainees (66.7%) reported attending up to one operating list per week. However, 28.1% reported attending up to one list every two weeks or less and 5 trainees stated that they had not attended a list at all over the preceding 8 weeks. Trainees working in a unit with less than 3999 deliveries attended significantly more theatre sessions compared to trainees in units with over 4000 deliveries (p = 0.007), as did senior trainees (p = 0.032) and trainees attached to consultants performing major gynaecological surgery (p = 0.022). In the previous 8 weeks, only 6 trainees reported performing a total abdominal hysterectomy independently, all were senior trainees (ST6 and above). In the trainers' survey, only two respondents (3.0%) agreed that the current program produces doctors competent in general gynaecological surgery by the end of training, compared to 48 (73.8%) respondents who disagreed. CONCLUSIONS: Trainees' concerns over a lack of surgical training appear to be justified. The main barriers to training are perceived to be a lack of team structure and a lack of theatre time.

Maternal serum α-fetoprotein at 11-13 weeks' gestation in spontaneous early preterm delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential value of maternal serum level of α-fetoprotein (AFP) in the first trimester of pregnancy in the prediction of spontaneous early preterm delivery. METHODS: Maternal serum concentration of AFP at 11-13 weeks' gestation was measured in a case-control study of singleton pregnancies delivering phenotypically normal neonates, including 33 cases with spontaneous delivery before 34 weeks and 99 matched controls delivering after 37 weeks. The median multiple of the median (MoM) serum AFP in the two outcome groups was compared and the bivariate gaussian distributions were simulated in a previously described screened population of 33,370 pregnancies to estimate the performance of screening for early delivery by a combination of maternal characteristics and obstetric history with serum AFP. RESULTS: In the preterm delivery group compared to the term delivery group, the median serum AFP MoM was higher (1.33 vs. 0.97, p = 0.006). The estimated detection rate of preterm delivery, at a false-positive rate of 10%, from maternal characteristics and obstetric history was 27.5% and this increased to 36.0% with the addition of serum AFP. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of serum AFP at 11-13 weeks improves the prediction of early preterm delivery provided by maternal characteristics and obstetric history.