Validation of the questionnaire "Pregnancy Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (pVHS)" toward COVID-19 vaccine for Malaysian pregnant women.

Background: Pregnancy is one of the risks for severe COVID-19 infection, and receiving a vaccination is one of the effective methods to reduce disease severity. However, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women remains an issue. This study aims to develop and validate the pregnancy Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (pVHS) toward COVID-19 vaccine for Malaysian pregnant women. Method: An 8-item Malay language pregnancy Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (pVHS-M) for COVID-19 was adapted from the adult Vaccine Hesitancy Scale and validated using Exploratory Factor Analysis. Six expert panels were involved in content validity, and ten pregnant women were involved in face validity. A cross-sectional study on 200 pregnant women was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan. Result: The item-level content validity index is 1.00, demonstrating good relevance of the eight items used to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The item-level face validity index obtained is 0.99, indicating that the items were clear and comprehensible. The Cronbach alpha score was 0.944, with factor loadings ranging from 0.79 to 0.89. Conclusion: The pVHS-M demonstrated good internal consistency, indicating that it is a valid and reliable tool for assessing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women.

Pericentric Inversion of Chromosome 9 in Twins With Cyclopia: A Rare Entity.

Pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 (inv(9)) is one of the most common variants seen in a normal human karyotype that occurs during meiosis. Despite being categorized as a normal variant, some studies using classical cytogenetics have recently shown that inv(9) could be associated with azoospermia, congenital anomalies, growth retardation, and rarely with abnormal karyotype. However, there is no reported association with cyclopia. Interestingly this genetic variant involves twin fetuses. A 36-year-old multiparous lady with dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy presented to the fetomaternal unit with fetal growth restriction at 34 weeks of gestation. An ultrasound scan revealed both have microcephaly, fisting hands, holoprosencephaly, and proboscis suspicious of Patau syndrome. Amniocentesis was not issued due to late pregnancy and guarded prognosis. The mother presented with pre-eclampsia at 35 weeks of gestation. The pregnancy managed to prolong up to 36 weeks after which caesarean section was performed due to the leading twin being in a transverse lie. Two baby twin girls were born 3 minutes apart with microcephaly and cyclops appearance. Chromosomal analysis of both twins revealed similar karyotypes of 46, XX, inv(9)(p11,q13). Pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 is regarded as a normal chromosomal variation in the general population, but in twins with cyclops is considered rare. Early referral to a tertiary hospital for twin management is highly required. It may identify fetuses with such abnormalities and counsel the parents with appropriate management.

First-trimester miscarriage in the background of endometrial carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer in young women (less than 40-year-old) is associated with anovulatory menses, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and subfertility. Endometrial cancer occurring in a miscarriage is rare. We highlight a case of endometrial cancer occurring during miscarriage of a non-viable pregnancy, its management and the outcome. CASE: A 32-year-old woman, Gravida 1 Para 0, was referred to our center at 7 weeks gestation in 2018 for uncontrolled diabetes mellitus diagnosed during investigation for subfertility. Her poor compliance with the treatment is consistent with an HbA1c of 8%. During the assessment, she was already complaining of lower abdominal pain. Ultrasound showed irregular IUGS with no fetal echo. She had a miscarriage soon; however, due to ultrasound evidence of thickened and irregular endometrium (17 mm) with mixed echogenicity, dilatation and curettage (D + C) were commenced. The first and second tissues were reported as the product of conception (POC) and well differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma, respectively. The first hysteroscopy showed foci area of polypoidal growth at the right posterior endometrium, obscuring the right ostium, with similar histology report. She was commenced on high-dose progestogen with hysteroscopy surveillance 6 months later, which showed disease regression. After two normal hysteroscopies and endometrial biopsies with continuous progestogen therapy for 12 months, cyclical progestogen for 12 months and follow-up for another 6 months, she had spontaneous conception and is currently pregnant at 16 weeks gestation. CONCLUSION: Endometrial cancer should be suspected in high-risk patients with first-trimester miscarriage. Individualized treatment with high dose progestogen and follow-up with the proper patient and partner counselling and education has high successful regressionand later on, pregnancy rate.

Clinical predictors of embryo quality among women of advanced age receiving intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles in Malaysia: A cohort study.

Background: Declining fertility in a woman of advanced age is associated with a depletion in ovarian reserve as well as declining oocyte and embryo quality. Determining the predictors of embryo quality may assist in stimulation target and cycle prediction. Objective: This study aims to identify factors affecting embryo quality among women of advanced age receiving intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted over a period of 12 months, from January until December 2018, on 734 mature oocytes retrieved from 124 women of advanced age (35-45 yr old) receiving ICSI. The Society of Assisted Reproductive Techniques system was used to determine the morphological grading of embryo quality. The fertilization rate, cleavage rate, and pregnancy rate per cycle were expressed as a percentage per cycle for a total of 76 embryo transfers. Possible predictors of high-quality embryos were evaluated using single and multiple regression tests, with p < 0.05 considered as significant. Results: Out of the 586 available embryos, 288 (49.15%) high-quality embryos were obtained. The fertilization and cleavage rates were 86.18% and 97.83%, respectively. The total number of retrieved oocytes (R2 = 0.857) and the total available embryos (R2 = 0.857) were closely related to high-quality embryos. 76 embryo transfers were conducted, with 17 successful conceptions (implantation rate = 22.37% per transfer). There were no miscarriages among the pregnancies. Conclusion: Increasing the number of collected oocytes and the cleavage rate could increase the chance of obtaining more high-grade embryos. This could increase the success of ICSI among women of advanced age.

A rare cause of acute urinary retention in adolescents: A case of imperforate hymen.

Imperforate hymen is a genital outflow abnormality that can occur in females. It can present with various symptoms and is associated with short- and long-term complications that may affect patients' quality of life. Acute urinary retention in adolescents is a rare occurrence. We report a case of delayed diagnosis of imperforate hymen involving multiple visits to the clinic for urinary symptoms and the subsequent development of acute urinary retention. Awareness of this rare presentation is essential since delayed diagnosis is associated with hydronephrosis, endometriosis and infertility in later life.

Late-Onset Mirror Syndrome.

Mirror syndrome is a rare clinical condition in pregnancy associated with significant fetal mortality and maternal morbidity. It is characterized by a triad of complications: fetal hydrops, placenta oedema, and maternal oedema. We are reporting one case of late-onset Mirror syndrome in which the patient presented later in the gestation of 36 weeks due to excessive weight gain and clinical sign mimicking preeclampsia. Awareness of this disease is essential, as a failure of recognition will delay the treatment and cause higher maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality.