[A delay in the HELLP syndrome diagnosis]. / Opozdení diagnózy HELLP syndromu.

HELLP syndrome is a serious obstetrical complication that tends to occur in the second half of pregnancy that complicates six promiles of pregnancies. The term HELLP syndrome is derived from the beginning letters of the English words indicating laboratory changes, which is occurs as a specific illness in pregnancy. There is hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and a decreased platelet count. It can present itself with preeclampsia or without it. The most serious complications are disseminated intravascular coagulation, liver rupture or various organ failures. The pathogenesis at the moment is not completely known. The basic approach to care is delivery at the earliest possible term. HELLP syndrome generally arises in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, but can also occur after delivery. It has typical signs, which can also arise due to other liver diseases, but more frequently in diseases of the gall bladder, which in pregnancy given the physiological changes in the body of the pregnant women is also predisposed. In this context, woman with this problem can seek out other physicians than obstetricians. In our case, we wanted to refer to the needs of early diagnosis of this frequently diagnosed illness, since in the case of late diagnosis and a woman not sent to the obstetrical department can lead to a serious life threatening state for the mother and child.

Antiviral prophylaxis of neonatal herpes infection.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is considered to be one of the most frequent viral infectious agents in humans. Transmission of HSV from mother to foetus during pregnancy is uncommon with about 85% of transmission occurring perinatally, when neonates acquire HSV during vaginal birth from infected genital tract secretions. For women, who present with an episode of recurrent genital herpes several weeks before the expected delivery date, suppressive therapy with acyclovir or valacyclovir is recommended during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy. The study group consists of 21 women with recurrent genital tract herpes, who delivered between the years 2007-2009 at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Na Bulovce. Women in the last month of pregnancy were administered prophylactic viralstatic treatment with acyclovir 3 x 400 mg per day orally until delivery. In this study, no patient showed signs of acute lesions and viral DNA was not detectable on PCR in vaginal secretions. One woman delivered by acute caesarean section following signs of foetal hypoxia during the first stage of labour, two women were delivered by forceps. No newborns showed signs of HSV neonatal infection. Antiviral prophylaxis in the last month of pregnancy in women with recurrent genital herpes infection is considered to be safe and effective in the prevention of vulvar lesions and in decreasing the incidence of caesarean sections in this group of women.

Bilateral avulsion of the puborectal muscle: magnetic resonance imaging-based three-dimensional reconstruction and comparison with a model of a healthy nulliparous woman.

OBJECTIVES: Obstetric trauma to the puborectal muscle seems to be an important cause of pelvic floor dysfunction in women. Due to the complicated three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of the pelvic structures, two-dimensional images are not sufficient to demonstrate its relationships in a complex fashion. Thus, we aimed to create a 3D computer model to visualize the normal female pelvic floor anatomy and to compare this with the anatomy after bilateral avulsion of the puborectal muscle following delivery. METHODS: We created two 3D computer models of the female pelvic floor, one of a healthy nulliparous woman and the other of a woman with bilateral puborectal muscle avulsion after vaginal delivery. The data for the models were obtained from magnetic resonance imaging examinations and the following structures were depicted: pelvic bones, puborectal muscle, internal obturator muscle, urethra, urinary bladder, vagina and rectum. The models were compared. RESULTS: The models allowed us to demonstrate in three dimensions changes in the puborectal muscle after avulsion. Its relations to the bone, internal obturator muscle, perineal membrane and the deep part of the external anal sphincter were modeled and differences from the normal non-injured anatomy were demonstrated. Avulsion altered the support to the whole endopelvic fascia and destabilized both the anterior and the posterior vaginal walls. CONCLUSIONS: The use of 3D technology including modeling allows for the acquisition of new knowledge and aids in the understanding of both normal and pathological pelvic anatomy.