Placental mesenchymal dysplasia complicated with sudden fetal demise and amniotic fluid embolism: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Placenta mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD) is a rare placental anomaly associated with various fetal and maternal complications. Whether close ultrasound surveillance can prevent intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) in patients with PMD is still under investigation. Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare, lethal, and unpredictable maternal complication that has never been described in association with PMD. Here, we report a case of PMD, in which the fetus eventually demised in utero despite weekly color Doppler monitoring, and the mother subsequently encountered AFE during delivery. CASE PRESENTATION: A 43-year-old woman who had received three frozen embryo transfer, was found to have a singleton pregnancy with an enlarged multi-cystic placenta at 8 weeks' gestation. Fetal growth restriction (FGR) was noted since the 21stweek. The fetus eventually demised in-utero at 25 weeks despite weekly color Doppler surveillance. Cesarean section was performed under general anesthesia due to placenta previa totalis and antepartum hemorrhage. During surgery, the patient experienced a sudden blood pressure drop and desaturation followed by profound coagulopathy. AFE was suspected. After administration of inotropic agents and massive blood transfusion, the patient eventually survived AFE. PMD was confirmed after pathological examination of the placenta. CONCLUSIONS: While FGR can be monitored by color Doppler, our case echoed previous reports that IUFD may be unpreventable even under intensive surveillance in PMD cases. Although AFE is usually considered unpredictable, PMD can result in cumulative risk factors contributing to AFE. Whether a specific link exists between the pathophysiology of PMD and AFE requires further investigation.

Sudden respiratory and circulatory collapse after cesarean section: Amniotic fluid embolism or other reasons? - a case report.

BACKGROUND: For a healthy parturient, a cardiopulmonary collapse that suddenly occurs shortly after an uneventful caesarean section is a relatively rare event and presents a significant challenge for the anesthesia provider. CASE PRESENTATION: Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is characterized by acute and rapid collapse and is well known to the obstetric team. Our patient experienced sudden cardiovascular collapse, severe respiratory difficulty and hypoxia, in the absence of other explanations for these findings at the time, and thus AFE was immediately become the focus of the consideration. However, there is no quick, standard laboratory test for AFE, therefore the diagnosis is one of exclusion based on presenting symptoms and clinical course. After given symptomatic treatment, the patient made an uneventful initial recovery in a short period and developed a rash. We recognized that the postpartum shock was associated with delayed anaphylaxis of antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: These observations have implications for understanding whenever administering drugs in surgery, which may affect the anesthesiologist's judgment regarding the complications of anesthesia. Even though serious complications of common perioperative drugs may rarely occur, anesthesia providers should be aware of the consideration. Early recognition and effective treatment are more important than prompt diagnosis.

Acute inflammation in the uterine isthmus coincides with postpartum acute myometritis in the uterine body involving refractory postpartum hemorrhage of unknown etiology after cesarean delivery.

Uterine atony is a major cause of postpartum hemorrhage. We recently proposed the new histological concept of postpartum acute myometritis (PAM) for the pathophysiology of refractory uterine atony of unknown etiology, which is characterized by the diffuse activation of mast cells and the complement system as well as the massive infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils into the uterine body. We herein focused on the uterine isthmus just adjacent to the body. The isthmus becomes significantly elongated throughout pregnancy. It is composed of myocytes and fibroblasts with an extracellular matrix that forms a passive lower segment during labor. The aim of this study was to histologically examine the uterine isthmus in cases of PAM in the uterine body. Under the amniotic fluid embolism-registry program in Japan, we selected PAM cases from uterine samples obtained by cesarean hysterectomy and delivered to us for analyses between 2011 and 2017. Control tissues were collected during elective cesarean section. We investigated the isthmus tissues of these cases and performed immunohistochemistry for inflammatory cell markers, i.e. neutrophil elastase, mast cell tryptase, CD68, CD3, and C5a receptor (C5aR). The numbers of tryptase-positive degranulating mast cells, elastase-positive neutrophils, CD68-positive macrophages, and C5aR-positive cells in the isthmus were significantly higher in uteri with PAM in the body than in controls without PAM. CD3 was negative in both groups. In conclusion, inflammation and an anaphylactoid reaction were histologically detected not only in the uterine body, but in the isthmus among cases of refractory PPH of unknown etiology after cesarean section.

Coagulación intravascular retiniana: como signo clínico de embolización de líquido amniónico / Intravascular coagulation in the retina as clinical sign of embolization of amniotic fluid

La embolización de líquido amniótico es una de las condiciones más infrecuentes pero desvastadora que puede presentarse en embarazadas. La prevalencia se ha reportado de 1 en 80.000, con un alto índice de mortalidad (86%). El diagnóstico esta basado en uno o más de los 4 signos clínicos: colapso cardiovascular, dificultad respiratoria, coma y/o convulsiones y coagulopatía. Coagulación intravascular diseminada puede ocasionar pérdida visual bilateral en el grupo de sobrevivientes, por oclusión del sistema arterial retiniano u coroideo. Los sintomas visuales se presentan usualmente después del desarrollo de síntomas sistémicos; sin embargo, en el caso clínico que se expone a continuación la manifestación visual ocurrió simultaneamente con el desarrollo de las sistémicas. Por tanto, la pérdida visual bilateral en el contexto de los signos clínicos sistémicos expuestos, debe alertar al obstetra sobre la posibilidad de embolización de liquido amniótico.

Amniotic fluid embolism is one of the most devastating and infrequent condition known in pregnant women. The prevalence has been reportd as a 1 in 80.000 deliveries with high mortality rate, almost 86%. The diagnosis is based on one or more of the four symptoms and signs: cardiovascular collapse, respiratory distress, coma/seizures and/or coagulopathy. Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy can cause bilateral visual loss in the group of survivors by occlusion of the retinal artery and/or the choroid system. The visual manifestations appear usually after the development of systemic symptoms, but in the clinical case described below the visual symptoms occurred simultaneously to the development of systemic manifestations. Therefore, bilateral visual loss in the context of the systemic clinical signs exposed, should alert the obstetrician about the possibility of embolization of amniotic fluid.

[Amniotic fluid embolism: report of the successful outcome of a case with inaugural cardiac arrest and early DIVC complicated by hemoperitoneum of iatrogen origin and bleeding of an hepatic adenoma]. / Embolie amniotique: à propos de l'issue favorable d'un cas avec arrêt cardiaque inaugural et CIVD précoce compliquée d'un hémopéritoine d'origine iatrogène et d'un saignement sur un adénome hépatique.

Amniotic fluid embolism is a relatively rare clinical entity and with difficult medical recognition. However, it is the second leading cause of maternal mortality. We report here the case of a 32-year-old patient who underwent elective caesarean section complicated by an amniotic fluid embolism with cardiac arrest. The presence of a major disseminated intravascular coagulation favored the occurrence of a retroperitoneal hematoma of iatrogenic origin on attempt of femoral venous catheterization and that of hemoperitoneum on bleeding of an hepatic adenoma. The diagnostic of amniotic fluid embolism was confirmed by the presence of amniotic cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage. The patient survived without sequelae.

Chest pain syndromes in pregnancy.

Chest pain syndromes in pregnancy include numerous catastrophic cardiovascular events. Acute myocardial infarction, aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism, and amniotic fluid embolism are the most important causes of nonobstetric mortality and morbidity in pregnancy. Each of these could result in poor maternal and fetal outcomes if not diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion. However, their diagnosis and management is limited by fetal risks of diagnostic procedures, dangers of pharmacotherapy and interventions that have neither been widely studied nor validated. This article reviews the current literature on epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of 4 potentially lethal chest pain syndromes in pregnancy.

[Successful anesthetic management of a postpartum patient with amniotic fluid embolism].

We report a case of amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) after cesarean section (C/S). A 35-year-old primigravida with placenta previa and myoma underwent C/S because of nonreassuring fetal status caused by medical induction of labor. C/S was performed smoothly under general anesthesia and the baby had no problems. Immediately after the end of C/S, she went into sudden cardiovascular collapse and massive postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) became apparent. The mechanical ventilation with 100% oxygen was continued. Cardiovascular stabilization was attained with immediate administration of noradrenaline and blood transfusion. As her clinical course indicated coagulopathy due to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), we gave transfusion of fresh frozen plasma and red cell concentrate before the diagnosis of DIC was established by laboratory tests. Since we thought that manual pressure and uterotonics were not adequate to stop PPH, we performed uterine artery embolization additionally. The PPH with DIC was stopped by these measures seven hours after C/S. The patient and her baby left the hospital with no complications. AFE is a rare and often fatal obstetric condition, characterized by sudden cardiovascular collapse, and massive bleeding with DIC. The prompt awareness and initiation of appropriate measures are mandatory for patient's survival.

[Gastrointestinal stromal tumor in pregnancy and control. Case report]. / Tumor del estroma gastrointestinal en el embarazo y control posterior. caso clínico.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are the commonest stromal tumors of the digestive tract. Even though, the incidence is aproximately 10 to 20 cases per million people and year. More than 90% of these tumors take place in patients over 40, and the median age is 63. Its diagnosis during pregnancy is extremely rare. There are less than 10 cases reported in literature about gastrointestinal stromal tumors diagnosed during pregnancy. We describe the case of a patient who was diagnosed of gastrointestinal stromal tumor during her first pregnancy due to massive lower digestive bleeding and the fetus died. She underwent a small bowel resection and cesarean section delivery. Afterwards, she was controlled by obstetricians, digestive surgeons and oncologists. The following two pregnancies were normal, and six years since the diagnosis she is asymptomatic. Even if they are extremely rare tumors during pregnancy, it is very important knowing their diagnosis and multidisciplinary treatment; also very important is knowing their prognostic factors and the different possible treatments.

Unusual pulmonary embolism: septic pulmonary embolism and amniotic fluid embolism.

BACKGROUND: Septic and amniotic fluid emboli are rare sources of pulmonary embolism (PE), so the present study sought to elucidate the background of these cases. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 11,367 PE cases were identified from 396,982 postmortem examinations. The incidence of septic PE was 247 (2.2%) of the total. The origin of infection was found in 85.6% of the cases. Fungal embolus was detected more often than bacterial embolus. The most frequently detected fungus was aspergillus (20.8%). The primary disease associated with fungal embolus was leukemia (43.2%). The incidence of PE cases associated with pregnancy and/or delivery was 89 (0.8%) of the total PE cases. Among them, amniotic fluid embolism was found in 33 (73.3%) of 45 PE cases with vaginal delivery, and in 7 (21.2%) of 33 PE cases with cesarean delivery (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Fungal embolus was more frequent than bacterial embolus, and leukemia was most frequent as the primary disease in cases of fungal embolus. The main cause of PE in cesarean section cases was thrombotic embolism, and the main cause in vaginal delivery cases was amniotic fluid embolism.

Amniotic fluid embolism after surgical trauma: two case reports and review of the literature.

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a relatively rare condition usually occurring during or shortly after pregnancy and is catastrophic in most cases. The classical description is a sudden onset of dyspnoea, cyanosis and hypotension out of proportion to the blood loss, followed quickly by cardiorespiratory arrest. Up to 20% of patients will have seizures and up to 40% will have consumptive coagulopathy. If the patient survives the initial phase, a non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema will follow in up to 70% of all cases. We report on two cases of severe and near fatal amniotic fluid embolism during pregnancy. Surgical trauma, caused by a blow in the stomach and a surgical intervention, was considered to be the aetiology.

[Amniotic embolism--a case in forensic medicine practice and literature review].

The author describes a case of vaginal delivery in which the mother dies. Because of a retained placenta parts in cavum uteri, the physician peroformed revisio cavi uteri instrumentalis, in which wall of the uterus is perforated, about 3 cm in length. A justice commission of seven persons associate the bleeding out of the uterus and the death of the mother with the perforation of the uterus. We consider that the death of the mother is due to amniotic embolism and not due to the perforation of the uterus. We cite contemporary scientific data.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation: treat the cause, not the lab values.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a manifestation of an underlying pathologic process such as cancer, infection, trauma, or obstetric catastrophe. It can manifest as thrombosis, bleeding, or both. To succeed, treatment must address the underlying cause.

Amniotic fluid activates complement. A role in amniotic fluid embolism syndrome?

A 30-year-old woman died with massive pulmonary microvascular leukostasis immediately after cesarean hysterectomy. We postulated that this might have resulted from amniotic fluid embolization and, therefore, tested amniotic fluids as activators of granulocytes and the plasma complement system. Normal human amniotic fluid failed to aggregate granulocytes, provoke a respiratory burst, or attract the cells chemotactically. However, amniotic fluid activated complement when incubated with normal plasma. The ability to activate complement resided in lipid-rich particulate material in the fluid, and activation proceeded mainly (but probably not exclusively) via the alternative complement pathway. Amniotic fluids varied widely in their ability to activate complement, with the most potent samples derived from women with distressed pregnancies. Plasma samples from donors also varied widely in their ability to be activated by amniotic fluid, and many of the most activatable plasma samples derived from gravid women. We propose that amniotic fluid embolization can, like "shock lung" syndrome, have a leukostatic early phase, and that complement and granulocyte activation on embolization of amniotic fluid can contribute to the pulmonary collapse characteristic of that syndrome, especially when a potently activating fluid is combined with a potently activatable plasma.

Death from amniotic fluid embolism and disseminated intravascular coagulation after a curettage abortion.

PIP: A case of autopsy-proven amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) after a curettage procedure performed at 16 weeks gestation is described. This is believed to be the 1st fatal case of AFE reported in the U.S., although there have been nonfatal cases following curettage procedures reported previously. In this case, the thromboplastic property of the trophoblastic fragments led to the occurrence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Analysis of previously reported cases of AFE and/or DIC have implicated labor-inducing techniques. Such instillation procedures can push amniotic fluid into the maternal circulation system. In the present case, however, cellular debris rather than the fluid as such, was the primary agent which precipitated AFE and DIC. DIC is a rare and potentially severe complication of curettage, occurring at a rate of 0-3/1000 2nd trimester procedures. The condition appears to depend on gestational age. Supportive treatment must be provided. Prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary. Replacement of blood and clotting factors is called for in cases of DIC.^ieng