The Effect of the Combined Use of Methylergonovine and Oxytocin during Caesarean Section in the Prevention of Post-partum Haemorrhage.

We aimed to show to patients the benefit of post-partum haemorrhage prophylaxis treatment and the effectiveness as a uterotonic agent of the combined use of methylergonovine and oxytocin infusion in the prevention of haemorrhage during and after Caesarean section, by comparison with a control group which received oxytocin infusion only. Two groups of patients undergoing Caesarean section at the same clinic were included in the study. A combination of methylergonovine and oxytocin was administered to the first group during the intra-operative and post-operative periods. The second group did not receive methylergonovine and was administered only with oxytocin infusion in the intra-operative and post-operative periods. Pre-operative and post-operative haemogram readings were taken for all patients in each of the groups for comparison. No difference was found between the two groups with regard to mean ages and pre-operative haemogram values. The decrease in post-operative haemoglobin values for the group administered with methylergonovine maleate and oxytocin was found to be significantly greater than for the group administered with oxytocin only. Results indicated that prophylactic methylergonovine treatment was clearly successful for the patients and no adverse side effects were found. The routine use of methylergonovine and oxytocin infusion in combination during the intra-operative period of Caesarean section reduced the level of post-partum haemorrhage considerably. We believe that this procedure will also reduce the risk of uterine atony, but clearly, prospective studies will be necessary in future to confirm this assumption.

Evaluation of the effects of fasting associated dehydration on maternal NGAL levels and fetal renal artery Doppler parameters.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal neutrophil gelatinase-asssociated lipocalin (NGAL) levels and fetal renal artery (fRA) Doppler flow indices in pregnant women fasting in Ramadan in respect of dehydration in long hot summer days as a marker of hypoperfusion and early renal injury. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out at a University Hospital. Fasting pregnant women and non-fasting age, gravidity and gestational age-matched women were evaluated for hematologic, blood biochemistry and urine parameters in the first and fourth weeks of the Ramadan. Umbilical artery and fRA Doppler flows were studied in each evaluation. RESULTS: Blood urea nitrogen, potassium and hematocrit levels, blood and urine NGAL levels were significantly higher, and fRA Doppler indices increased in fasting women (p < 0.05) during the second visit in the last week of the Ramadan, while non-fasting women had no significant alterations in each evaluation (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Adequate maternal vascular volume is essential for the maintenance of healthy pregnancy. Fasting during the long and hot summer days leads to fluid deprivation and dehydration which was found to be related to subclinical maternal renal dysfunction and increased fRA Doppler indices.

Chronic abdominal pain in a patient with escobar syndrome.

Escobar syndrome is characterized with multiple pterygia or webs of the skin and multiple congenital anomalies. We present a 15-year-old patient with Escobar syndrome who complained of persistent blunt abdominal pain for 1 year. Preoperative evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of imperforate hymen, and the patient underwent hymenectomy under intravenous sedation. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful and her complaints resolved completely. After a 3-month follow-up, she reported having normal menstrual bleeding intervals each month without any complications. Patients with Escobar syndrome may suffer from abdominal pain due to imperforate hymen. Careful evaluation of these patients must include a complete gynaecological assessment and, if indicated, surgical treatment must be performed without delay.

Could platelet distribution width be a predictive marker for unexplained recurrent miscarriage?

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was to evaluate the platelet function in unexplained recurrent miscarriage and to investigate whether any hematologic changes detectable by simple complete blood count have a diagnostic value for the prediction of unexplained recurrent miscarriage. METHODS: A prospective study based on the comparison of 74 patients with unexplained recurrent first-trimester pregnancy loss with 208 control subjects matched for age. The two groups were compared in terms of platelet indices. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in platelet distribution width in patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriage compared to healthy control subjects. Platelet distribution width values in the patient group were statistically higher (P < 0.001) than the control group. CONCLUSION: Our study provides an evidence that platelet distribution width gradually increases in women with recurrent miscarriage compared to control group. Patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriage have significantly increased platelet aggregation. This data may provide an empirical rationale for the use of anticoagulants in the management of this clinical condition.

Management of cesarean scar pregnancy with suction curettage: a report of four cases and review of the literature.

PURPOSE: To present the outcomes of four cases of cesarean scar pregnancy treated with suction curettage. METHODS: Four patients were ultrasonographically diagnosed with cesarean scar pregnancies treated with suction curettage in a tertiary care center. RESULTS: Serum ß-human chorionic gonadotropin levels ranged between 1,681 and 15,573 mU/mL, gestational sac diameter measured from 10 to 24 mm and scar thickness was between 4.7 and 6.8 mm. All patients underwent suction curettage under general anesthesia with transabdominal ultrasonography guidance. No complications were observed during or after operation. CONCLUSION: Suction curettage is a viable alternative for conservative treatment in selected cases of patients who are diagnosed with CSP early in gestation and who have a myometrial thickness of more than 4.5 mm.

Thyroid diseases in pregnancy: The importance of anamnesis.

OBJECTIVE: Primary objective of our study was to evaluate the efficiency of detailed medical history and thyroid examination of the pregnant women presenting to our clinic from Rize province and nearby which was an endemic goiter region. It was aimed to investigate the frequency of thyroid diseases, pregnancy outcomes and the efficiency of screening with thyroid function tests during the first trimester of pregnancy as secondary endpoint. Methodology : A prospective clinical study was conducted with 998 pregnant women between the ages of 17-48 years. In the first step of our study, a detailed medical history was obtained and a detailed thyroid gland examination was performed in all the patients (n=998). In the patients diagnosed with thyroid disease or considered to have thyroid disease with these results (n=107), thyroid diseases were evaluated with thyroid function tests and imagining methods. Analyses of socio-demographic data and nutrition were also made. In the second step, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T3 and free T4 tests were performed in the first antenatal examination of the pregnant cases considered not to have thyroid disease after medical history and examination (n=891). Parameters of thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb), thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) and TSH receptor auto antibodies (TRAb) were investigated in the cases whose TSH, sT3 and sT4 levels were different than the reference values after examination of the endocrinologist. Thyroid ultrasonography was performed. Urinary iodine levels in 24 hour urine were investigated. RESULTS: During pregnancy, the incidence of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism in the whole study group were 2.8% (28/998) and 4.3% (43/998), respectively, 6.7% of the patients (67/998) had a diagnosis of thyroid disease before pregnancy. Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism depending on the TSH screening results were 1.9% (17/891) and 1.1% (10/891) respectively and the incidence of overt hyperthyroidism and overt hypothyroidism were 0.2% (2/891) and 0.2% (2/891) in the pregnant cases considered not to have thyroid disease with medical history and examination. CONCLUSION: Detailed medical history and family history obtained during the first trimester of pregnancy helped us to identify 6.7% of thyroid diseases among the pregnant women. This result effectively emphasizes the importance of detailed first prenatal examination regarding the thyroid.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in pregnant women during the third trimester of pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: The principal aims of this study were to examine the current prevalence rate, clinical characteristics, and related factors of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in pregnant women during the third trimester of pregnancy. METHOD: The study data were gathered from 434 consecutive women in the third trimester of pregnancy who presented to the obstetric outpatient clinics of 2 university research centers and from 58 consecutive nonpregnant women with diagnosed with OCD who presented to the psychiatric outpatient clinics of the same centers. Obsessive-compulsive disorder was diagnosed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale was used to determine the severity and types of obsessions and compulsions. RESULTS: The prevalence rate of OCD was found to be 3.5% among the women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Two (0.5%) women reported that OCD developed during the second trimester (16th and 24th gestational weeks) of pregnancy. The most common obsessions were contamination (80.0%) and symmetry/exactness (60.0%), whereas the most common compulsions were cleaning/washing (86.7%) and checking (60.0%). Women with pregnancy-onset OCD and some women with previous diagnoses of OCD had obsessions and compulsions with themes focused on the fetus or newborn. Pregnant women with OCD had higher frequencies of family history of OCD compared with women without this disorder. Age, educational level, employment status, number of gestations and live births, history of abortion, frequency of primigravida, and the existence of gestational complications were unrelated to OCD in the pregnant women. Pregnant and nonpregnant women with OCD had similar characteristics of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that OCD is present relatively frequently among pregnant women during the third trimester of pregnancy, and it has similar clinical features during gestation and nongestation.