Assessment of Acute Obstetrical Needs and the Potential Utility of Point-Of-Care Ultrasound in the North East Region of Haiti: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) implemented through task shifting to nontraditional users has potential as a diagnostic adjuvant to enhance acute obstetrical care in resource-constrained environments with limited access to physician providers. Objective: This study evaluated acute obstetrical needs and the potential role for POCUS programming in the North East region of Haiti. Methods: Data was collected on all women presenting to the obstetrical departments of two Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP)-affiliated public hospitals in the North East region of Haiti: Fort Liberté Hospital and Centre Medicosocial de Ouanaminthe. Data was obtained via retrospective review of hospital records from January 1 through March 31, 2016. Trained personnel gathered data on demographics, obstetrical history, diagnoses, clinical care and outcomes using a standardized tool. Diagnoses a priori, defined as those diagnoses whose detection could be assisted with POCUS, included multi-gestations, non-vertex presentation, cephalopelvic disproportion, placental abruption, placenta previa, spontaneous abortions, retained products and ectopic pregnancy. Results: Data were collected from 589 patients during the study period. Median maternal age was 26 years and median gestational age was 38 weeks. The most common reason for seeking care was pelvic pain (85.2%). Sixty-seven (11.5%) women were transferred to other facilities for higher-level care. Among cases not transferred, post-partum hemorrhage, infant mortality and maternal mortality occurred in 2.4%, 3.0% and 0.6% of cases, respectively. There were 69 cases with diagnoses that could have benefited from POCUS use. Between sites, significantly more cases had the potential for improved diagnostics with POCUS at Fort Liberté Hospital (19.8%) than Centre Medicosocial de Ouanaminthe (8.2%) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Acute obstetrical care is common and POCUS has the potential to impact the care of obstetrical patients in the North East region of Haiti. Future programs evaluating the feasibility of task shifting and the sustainable impacts of acute obstetric POCUS in Haiti will be important.

External validation of a simple scoring system to predict pregnancy viability in women presenting to an early pregnancy assessment clinic.

INTRODUCTION: A scoring system combining clinical history and simple ultrasound parameters was developed to predict early pregnancy viability beyond the first trimester. The scoring system has not yet been externally validated. This study aimed to externally validate this scoring system to predict ongoing pregnancy viability beyond the first trimester. METHODS: This prospective observational cohort study enrolled women with singleton intrauterine pregnancies before 12 weeks of gestation. Women underwent examination and ultrasound scan to assess gestational sac size, yolk sac size, and fetal pulsation status. A pregnancy-specific viability score was derived in accordance with the Bottomley score. Pregnancy outcomes at 13 to 16 weeks were documented. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was used to assess the discriminatory performance of the scoring system. RESULTS: In total, 1508 women were enrolled; 1271 were eligible for analysis. After adjustment for covariates, miscarriage (13%) was significantly associated with age ≥35 years (odds ratio [OR]=1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-3.34), higher bleeding score (OR=2.34, 95% CI: 1.25-4.38), gestational age (OR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.13-1.22), absence of yolk sac (OR=4.73, 95% CI: 2.11-10.62), absence of fetal heart pulsation (OR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.87-6.84), mean yolk sac size (OR=1.25, 95% CI: 1.06-1.47), and fetal size (OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.77-0.88). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.89-0.93). Viability score of ≥1 corresponded to a >90% probability of viable pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The scoring system was easy to use. A score of ≥1 could be used to counsel women who have a high likelihood of viable pregnancy beyond the first trimester.

Doppler and biochemical assessment for the prediction of early pregnancy outcome in patients experiencing threatened spontaneous abortion.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of Doppler indices of the corpus luteum and uterine artery in combination with serum progesterone and cancer antigen 125 (CA125) as prognostic tools in first-trimester threatened spontaneous abortion. METHODS: Pregnant women with threatened spontaneous abortion at a pregnancy duration 8-10 weeks were enrolled into an observational prospective clinical trial at a university hospital in Egypt during 2015. Doppler indices (uterine artery/corpus luteum resistance index and pulsatility index) and biochemical markers (CA125, progesterone) were determined and compared by pregnancy outcome (spontaneous abortion vs continuing pregnancy at 20 weeks). RESULTS: Of 100 women included, 16 had a spontaneous abortion. These women had a higher CA125 value than did women without an abortion (P<0.001), whereas the progesterone level among women with an abortion was lower (P<0.001). The Doppler indices were not significantly different between the groups, but calculation of the uterine artery resistance index as a percentage of the normal standard value at a given pregnancy duration revealed significant differences (P<0.001) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Serum progesterone and CA125 are useful provisional predictors of spontaneous abortion, whereas the Doppler indices are not. The two biomarkers could be used as a basis to counsel anxious couples. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT02420769.

[Echographic diagnosis of missed early miscarriage: Assessment of image quality]. / Diagnostic échographique de grossesse arrêtée précoce : étude de la qualité des clichés.

OBJECTIVE: Ultrasound examination plays a central role in case of suspected non-viable pregnancy. A wrong diagnosis might have major consequence in terms of inadequate care, especially in cases of false positive non-viable pregnancy diagnosis. Ultrasound criterions are today well defined. Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility and reproducibility of a novel image-quoting method of first-trimester non-viable pregnancy. METHODS: Thirty images of non-viable pregnancy were twice evaluated with blinded proofreading. Two quotations were evaluated: the first for the images of gestational sacs without embryo (gestational sac score), the second for the images with embryo (embryo score). RESULTS: The ICC (interclass correlation coefficient) was>0.75 for inter- and intra-observer reproducibility both for the quotations of the gestational sac and for the embryo with a low variability. Reproducibility of quoting crown rump length measurements <5mm was low at first proofreading but after adjustment of the quoting modalities, ICC was also>0.75. CONCLUSION: The inter- and intra-observer reproducibility of our quoting methods is high with a low variability. They might be a useful tool in current practice in the future.

[Assessment of efficacy and safety of medical treatment of non-viable first trimester pregnancy]. / Ocena skutecznosci i bezpieczenstwa leczenia zachowawczego w przypadkach ciazy obumarlej w pierwszym trymestrze.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to assess the efficacy and safety of medical treatment of non-viable first trimester pregnancy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed 50 cases of women diagnosed with non-viable first trimester pregnancy: missed abortion (79.6%) or anembryonic pregnancy (20.4%), who were admitted and treated at the First Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical University of Warsaw, between June 2011 and February 2012. The diagnosis was made after two ultrasound examinations, performed at least one week apart. None of the patients manifested symptoms of imminent miscarriage. All women received medical treatment - misoprostol administered vaginally or in cases of excessive bleeding in the course of the procedure, sublingually - according to our own scheme. The patients were informed that any moment they could decide to discontinue medical treatment and ask for surgery Initially, 4 tablets containing misoprostol (800 mcg) were administered vaginally A control ultrasound examination was performed 6 hours later. If expulsion of the gestational sac was completed, the patient was discharged. If the gestational sac was still present in the uterus, an additional dose of misoprostol was administered: 4 tablets vaginally or if excessive bleeding occurred, 3 tablets (600 mcg) sublingually. Another ultrasound examination was performed after 6 hours from the second dose and the patient was discharged if the expulsion of the gestational sac was completed. If the procedure failed, it was repeated in the same manner the next day. D&C was performed in cases of excessive bleeding, failure of medical treatment after 48 hours, patient decision to discontinue medical treatment or suspected incomplete abortion after menstrual bleeding. For women who completed the medical treatment, control visits were scheduled 14 days after hospital discharge and after menstrual bleeding, if incomplete abortion was suspected. RESULTS: D&C was performed in 12% of patients because of failure of medical treatment after 48 hours, excessive bleeding or incomplete abortion after menstrual bleeding. Additional 6% of women decided to discontinue medical treatment and demanded D&C before completing 48 hours of treatment. The mean dose of misoprostol administered until the expulsion of the gestational sac was 1.404 g (7.02 tablets). In 60% of cases the expulsion was completed before 12 hours from the beginning of the procedure. In multiparae, the time until expulsion did not exceed 6 hours more frequently than in nulliparae (50 vs. 24.14%, p<0.05). The duration of the procedure did not exceed 24 hours in any of the multiparae. Among women who did not undergo D&C, 46.2% were diagnosed with complete abortion during the control visit, 74 days after the hospital discharge, and 53.8%- after menstrual bleeding. No serious side effects of misoprostol, influencing its safety, were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Medical treatment is a highly effective and safe method of management of non-viable first trimester pregnancy. Because of the currently existing variety of protocols, it is recommended to implement standard schemes of misoprostol administration and control visits. It seems that there is no need for hospitalization during the procedure. Outpatient care may contribute to further reduction of the D&C rate. Limited surgery rate, apart from decreasing the risk of iatrogenic damage of the uterus, additionally leads to lower treatment costs as it eliminates the necessity of hospitalization and anesthesia.

Ultrasound assessment of premenopausal bleeding.

Vaginal bleeding is the most common cause of emergency care in the first trimester of pregnancy and accounts for the majority of premenopausal bleeding cases. Ultrasound evaluation combined with a quantitative beta human chorionic gonadotropin test is an established diagnostic tool to assess these patients. Spontaneous abortion because of genetic abnormalities is the most common cause of vaginal bleeding; ectopic pregnancy and gestational trophoblastic disease are other important causes and in all patients presenting with first trimester bleeding, ectopic pregnancy should be suspected and excluded, as it is associated with significant maternal morbidity and mortality. A thorough knowledge of the normal sonographic appearance of intrauterine gestation is essential to understand the manifestations of an abnormal gestation. Arteriovenous malformation of the uterus is a rare but important cause of vaginal bleeding in the first trimester, as it has to be differentiated from the more common retained products of conception, with which it is often mistaken.

Functional linear discriminant analysis: a new longitudinal approach to the assessment of embryonic growth.

BACKGROUND: Functional linear discriminant analysis (FLDA) is a new growth assessment technique using serial measurements to discriminate between normal and abnormal fetal growth. We used FLDA to assess and compare growth in live pregnancies destined to miscarry with those remaining viable. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of women with ultrasound scans on at least two separate occasions showing live pregnancies. Serial crown-rump length (CRL), mean gestational sac diameter and mean yolk sac diameter measurements were recorded. The ability of FLDA to predict subsequent miscarriage was compared with that of a single CRL measurement. RESULTS: Of 521 included pregnancies, 493 (94.6%) remained viable at 14 weeks and 28 (5.4%) miscarried. The CRL growth rate was significantly lower in those that miscarried (one-sample t-test, P = 2.638E-22). The sensitivity of FLDA in predicting miscarriage from serial CRL measurements was 60.7% and specificity was 93.1% [positive predictive value (PPV) 33.3%, negative predictive value (NPV) 97.7%]. This was significantly better for predicting miscarriage than a single CRL observation of more than 2SD below that expected (sensitivity 53.6%, specificity 72.2%, PPV 9.9%, NPV 96.5%). CONCLUSIONS: FLDA discriminates between normal and abnormal growth to predict miscarriage with high specificity. FLDA predicts miscarriage better than a single observation of a small CRL.

Ductus venosus blood flow assessment at 11 to 14 weeks of gestation and fetal outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between abnormal ductus venosus (DV) at 11-14 weeks' gestation and chromosomal abnormalities, structural defects and fetal outcome. METHODS: DV flow-velocity waveform (DV-FVW) and nuchal translucency thickness (NT) were prospectively evaluated in 1217 singleton pregnancies. RESULTS: The DV-FVW was abnormal in 84 fetuses, NT was above the 95th centile in 160 fetuses and both markers were observed in 41 fetuses. Chromosomal defects were diagnosed in 22 fetuses. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for an abnormal karyotype were 86.4%, 86.9%, 11.9% and 99.7%, respectively, for an increased NT. These values were 68.2%, 96.9%, 31.3% and 99.3%, respectively, for DV-FVW abnormalities and 68.2%, 97.6%, 36.6% and 99.3%, respectively, when both markers were found simultaneously. Regarding structural defects, these values were 43.8%, 92.9%, 8.3% and 99.1% for an abnormal NT, 25.0%, 92.6%, 4.8% and 98.8% for DV-FVW abnormalities and 25.0%, 97.9%, 15.4% and 98.9% for both together. Considering those cases of unexplained fetal demise, the values were 44.4%, 85.9%, 5.0% and 98.9% for NT abnormalities, 22.2%, 92.6%, 4.8% and 98.6% for an abnormal DV-FVW and 22.2%, 98%, 15.4% and 98.7% for both. In cases with increased NT, the percentage of live births with normal karyotype and no major fetal structural defects decreased from 93.8% in normal DV-FVW fetuses to 77.3% in abnormal ones. CONCLUSION: DV assessment at 11-14 weeks' gestation is useful in screening for fetal chromosomal abnormalities and may help to reduce the false-positive rate when combined with NT measurement. Abnormal DV-FVW is also associated with an increase in adverse perinatal outcome in fetuses with enlarged NT. However, the value of DV-FVW assessment in cases with normal NT is unclear.

Managing miscarriage in early pregnancy assessment units.

For most women, pregnancy is a significant life event and the prospect of losing a baby causes anxiety, stress and grief. Modern treatment of miscarriage should provide rapid sympathetic diagnosis and adequate counselling. Early pregnancy assessment units benefit patients, staff and the NHS. Many clinicians use medical treatment or expectant management, rather than standard surgical evacuation of the uterus.

Evaluation of the accuracy of transvaginal sonography for the assessment of retained products of conception after spontaneous abortion.

Transvaginal sonography (TVS) was used to assess uterine contents in 100 consecutive subjects presenting with a diagnosis of spontaneous abortion. TVS assessments were correlated with findings at subsequent evacuation of retained products of conception (ERPC). There was a strong correlation between the weight of the surgical specimen at ERPC with both the sagittal (r = 0.76; p < 0.05) and transverse (r = 0.73; p < 0.05) plane area measurements of the uterine cavity. Combining the 2 sonographic measurements increased the correlation to r = 0.81 (p < 0.05). Fifteen of 25 subjects who had been categorised to have an 'empty' uterus had less than 5 g of tissue removed and the other 10 subjects less than 10 g of tissue. In 20 of these 25 cases, the surgeon described the amount of curettings as 'small or non-significant'. TVS can accurately identify those women who do not have a significant amount of residual uterine tissue following spontaneous abortion.

Assessment of the empty follicle syndrome by transvaginal sonography.

The empty follicle syndrome was assessed using transvaginal ultrasonography in a group of 152 consecutive women with unmedicated menstrual cycles being studied because of primary or secondary infertility or repetitive miscarriage. The overall frequency of the empty follicle syndrome was found to be 43.4%. The frequency increased with age but was independent of gravidity. The empty follicle syndrome may be a significant etiologic factor in infertility or other reproductive abnormalities, and transvaginal ultrasound represents a good, non-invasive means of evaluating it.

[Rate of spontaneous abortion in relation to the time of fetal viability assessment]. / Spontanabortrate in Abhängigkeit des Zeitpunktes des fetalen Vitalitätsnachweises.

For the first time, the rate of spontaneous abortion is reported in a multicenter study of three different gynecological centers. In 1987 und 1988, the average spontaneous abortion rate in 315 pregnancies was 3.3%, after foetal heart actions had been verified by ultrasonic examination between the 7th and 12th week of gestation. A statistical significance has been calculated between the spontaneous abortion rate of 6.3%, if foetal heart beats were seen between the 7th and 9th week, and the spontaneous abortion rate of 1.0% with an evidence of foetal life (p less than 0.01) between the 10th to 12th week of gestation. The rate of spontaneous abortion of women above 34 years of age (8.9%) is statistically different (p less than 0.01) to that of women under 35 (1.9%). In women older than 34, the spontaneous abortion rate before the 10th week of gestation is 22.2% in contrast to 3.2% of women younger than 35 (p less than 0.01). Considering the evidence of foetal heart actions between the 10th and 12th week, the spontaneous abortion rate of women above the age of 34 is 1.9%, compared to 0.8% of women younger than 35. The statistical higher spontaneous abortion rate of women above the age of 34 before the 10th week of gestation and the lack of statistical difference of the abortion rate in this defined age group for foetal life to be proven from the 10th week on, should be an argument in favour of the 10th week of gestation as the earliest date of prenatal diagnosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)