Diagnostic accuracy of body mass index and fasting glucose for the prediction of gestational diabetes mellitus after assisted reproductive technology

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine the maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index [BMI], first-trimester fasting blood sugar [FBS], and the combination of [BMI+FBS] cut-points for at-risk pregnant women conceived by assisted reproductive technology [ART] to better predict the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus [GDM] in infertile women

Materials and Methods: In this nested case-control study, 270 singleton pregnant women consisted of 135 [GDM] and 135 [non-GDM] who conceived using ART were assessed. The diagnosis of GDM was confirmed by a one-step glucose tolerance test [O-GTT] using 75 g oral glucose. BMI was classified base on World Health Organization [WHO] criteria. The relationship between BMI, FBS, and BMI+FBS with the risk of GDM development was deter- mined by logistic regression and adjusted for confounding factors. Receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve analysis was performed to assess the value of BMI, FBS, and BMI+FBS for the prediction of GDM

Results: The GDM group had significantly higher age, BMI, family history of diabetes, and history of polycystic ovary syndrome in comparison with the non-GDM group [P<0.05]. Overweight and obese women had 3.27, and 5.14 folds increase in the odds of developing GDM, respectively. There was a 17% increase in the risk of developing GDM with each 1 mg/dl increase in fasting glucose level. The cut points for FBS 84.5 mg/dl [72.9% sensitivity, 74.4% specificity], BMI 25.4 kg/m2 [68.9% sensitivity, 62.8% specificity], and BMI+FBS 111.2 [70.7% sensitivity, 80.6% specificity] was determined

Conclusion: The early screening and high-quality prenatal care should be recommended upon the co-occurrence of high FBS [>/=84.5 mg/dl] in the first-trimester of the pregnancy and the BMI [=25.4 kg/m2] in pre-pregnancy period in women undergone ART. The combination of BMI and FBS is considered a better prediction value

Cervical gland area as an ultrasound marker for prediction of preterm delivery: a cohort study

Background: preterm labor is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality and it might be predicted by assessing the cervical change

Objective: to assess the association between absences of cervical gland area [CGA] and spontaneous preterm labor [SPTL]

Materials and Methods: this prospective cohort study was performed on 200 singleton pregnant women with a history of SPTL, second-trimester abortion in the previous pregnancy or lower abdominal pain in current pregnancy. Each patient underwent one transvaginal ultrasound examination between 14-28 wk of gestation. Cervical length was measured and CGA was identified and their relationship with SPTL before 35 and 37 wk gestation was evaluated using STATA software version 10

Results: the mean of cervical length was 36.5 mm [SD=8.4], the shortest measurement was 9 mm, and the longest one was 61 mm. Short cervical length [

Conclusion: our study showed that cervical gland area might be an important predictor of SPTL which should be confirmed with further researches

Successful local and systemic medical treatment of cesarean scar pregnancy and a subsequent term pregnancy after treatment: a case series

Treatment of cesarean scar pregnancy [CSP] is controversial. The objective of this study was to report our successful experience in the medical treatment of CSP with potassium chloride [KCl] and methotrexate. Case: This is a case series of six patients between 6-12 gestational weeks with the diagnosis of CSP. In five cases the fetus was alive and in one case, despite being at a gestational age of 12 weeks based on CRL, there was no fetal heart activity. In four of these cases, an ultrasound- guided KCl injection in the heart was performed on four living fetuses and then systemic methotrexate was administered. In two other cases, methotrexate was injected into the gestational sac and subsequently the systemic methotrexate was administered. During follow-up, the patients were stable and no complications occurred. Additionally, serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin [Beta-NCG] was negative between five to 11 weeks later. One of the patients became pregnant one year later. Her pregnancy continued without any complication and she was delivered by cesarean section at the gestational age of 38 weeks. During caesarean section, it was noticed that the appearance of previous cesarean scar was normal and there was no scar. Based on our experience, the combination of systemic Methotrexate with local Methotrexate or KCl is feasible and can be performed as an outpatient procedure and is successful in the treatment of CSP