Use of placental growth factor and uterine artery doppler pulsatility index in pregnancies involving intrauterine fetal growth restriction or preeclampsia to predict perinatal outcomes.

AIM: The potential of uterine artery (UA) Doppler pulsatility index (PI) and maternal serum placental growth factor (PlGF) level to predict perinatal outcome was explored in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine fetal growth restriction (IUGR) or preeclampsia (PE). METHODS: This longitudinal, prospective, and case-controlled study was conducted over a period of 24 months. At-risk pregnancies involving small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetuses, IUGR, gestational hypertension (GH), or PE were investigated, analyzing UA Doppler PI findings and maternal PlGF levels determined at the time of diagnosis (third trimester). RESULTS: UA Doppler PI and maternal serum PlGF values differed significantly in pregnancies complicated by IUGR and/or PE (vs. SGA or GH, p < 0.01). In the context of IUGR or PE, both parameters also differed significantly by perinatal outcome (adverse vs. normal, p < 0.01), although no predictive advantage over UA Doppler PI alone was conferred by adding a PlGF assay. CONCLUSION: UA Doppler PI and maternal serum PlGF determinations in the third trimester help identify pregnancies at the highest risk of adverse perinatal outcomes due to IUGR and/or PE. Although joint testing confers no predictive benefit over UA Doppler PI alone, the two diagnostics are interchangeable for this purpose.

Factores etiopatogénicos de la prematuridad en el hospital universitario Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona / Etiopathogenic factors of prematurity in the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona (Spain)

Objetivo. Determinar la tasa de partos prematuros durante el 2010 en el Hospital Universitario Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona, y clasificarlos según la causa principal utilizando un algoritmo de asignación etiológica para establecer las principales causas de parto prematuro. Sujetos y métodos. Se revisan todos los partos prematuros de menos de 37 semanas de gestación que se producen en el Hospital Universitario Sant Joan de Déu de Barcelona durante 2010 (396 casos), y se les asigna un grupo de etiología principal. Resultados. La tasa de parto prematuro es de 9,8%. Las causas inflamatorias representan el 36% de todos los partos prematuros seguidas de las causas idiopáticas (29%). En los partos prematuros de gestaciones múltiples las causas inflamatorias alcanzan el 44%. Conclusiones. Las causas inflamatorias son la principal etiología de parto prematuro, siendo más frecuente en las gestaciones múltiples (AU)

Objective. To determine the rate of preterm births in 2010 at the Sant Joan de Déu University Hospital in Barcelona, and classify them according to the main cause by using a mapping algorithm to establish the main etiological causes of preterm birth. Subjects and methods. All preterm births at less than 37 weeks’ gestation occurring in the Sant Joan de Déu University Hospital in 2010 (n=396) were reviewed and assigned to a group according to their primary etiology. Results. The preterm birth rate was 9.8%. Inflammatory causes accounted for 36% of all preterm births followed by idiopathic causes (29%). In preterm deliveries of multiple gestations, inflammatory causes accounted for 44%. Conclusions. Inflammatory causes are the main etiology of preterm births and are more common in multiple gestations (AU)