Changes in levator hiatus dimensions during pregnancy and after delivery in nulliparas: a prospective cohort study using 3D transperineal ultrasound.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes that occur in the levator ani muscle (1) during pregnancy and (2) after labor depending on the mode of delivery in a cohort of nulliparas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort longitudinal study, consisting of 84 primiparas who were examined and recruited in an antenatal clinic was conducted. All participants were submitted to a real-time three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonographic evaluation of the levator ani at (1) 12, (2) 22, and (3) 32 weeks of pregnancy (4) and 4-6 months postdelivery. The 3D volumes were acquired and stored for an offline analysis. RESULTS: Data from 59 women with at least two measurements were available for analysis. 35 women were delivered vaginally and 24 via cesarean section. There was a statistical increase in the dimensions of the levator hiatus at each pregnancy trimester when compared to the measurements of the previous trimesters. After vaginal delivery, hiatal dimensions increased compared to the third-trimester measurements; after cesarean section, hiatal dimensions decreased. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports that in primiparas, the dimensions of the levator hiatus increase significantly during pregnancy and subsequently either increase further after vaginal delivery or decrease to the first-trimester levels after cesarean section.

Transfusion-dependent homozygous beta-thalassaemia major: successful pregnancy in five cases.

beta-Thalassaemia major is a severe, transfusion-dependent anaemia that also causes infertility due to iron deposition to endocrine organs. Very few pregnancies have been reported among such patients. In this report we describe the evolution and successful outcome of pregnancy in 5 Greek women with beta-thalassaemia major. There were four full-term and one preterm deliveries of two normal and three small for the date neonates. Cardiovascular changes related to gestation may aggravate the underlying multiorgan damage of the pregnant mother and predispose to poor fetal growth and development. All five patients followed a strict transfusion regimen in order to maintain the haemoglobin level above 10 g/dl. The inadvertent administration of desferrioxamine in one patient until the 8th gestational week did not seem to have any serious effects on the development and well-being of the fetus. Although pregnancy is not contraindicated in beta-thalassaemia major, intensive individualized care is required if it is to be safe for the mother, and have a reasonably good chance of producing a healthy child.

Cigarette smoking and urinary incontinence in women--a new calculative method of estimating the exposure to smoke.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relation between cigarette smoking and urinary incontinence. A group of 80 women with incontinence (Group A) were tested urodynamically and compared with a group of 80 continent women (Group B). Patients were divided into smokers (S) and non-smokers (NS) with the incontinent ones classified as suffering from stress (SI) or motor in-continent (UI). The assessment of the smoking behavior of each individual focused upon the tar and nicotine content of each cigarette. The overall exposure to smoke was assessed as follows: tar/nicotine content in mg per cigarette x consumed cigarettes per day x duration of smoking intervals in years. According to the obtained data smokers were divided into current smokers (cs) and stop/start smokers (sss), whereas the current smokers were subdivided into heavy current smokers (hcs) and light current smokers (lcs). Significantly, more S were observed in Group A compared with Group B (48/80 vs. 11/32, P < 0.0005), whereas significantly more SI was found in NS compared with S (21/32 vs. 19/48, P < 0.0025). Particularly hcs developed more frequently UI than SI, although this difference had no statistical significance. According to our data smoking women are more likely to develop incontinence, especially motor incontinence, than non-smokers. Heavy smokers seem to tend more to UI.

[Pregnancy and labor in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura]. / Schwangerschaft und Geburt bei idiopathischer thrombozytopenischer Purpura.

Clinical data from eight pregnant women with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) were retrospectively analyses. The mean age of the women was 28.2 years. Five women underwent splenectomy during childhood. The lowest maternal platelet count observed ranged from 8000 to 88000/mm3. Genital bleeding occurred in only one case. Treatment was based on administration of corticosteroids with or without human-pooled immunoglobulins. Caesarian section was performed in all cases. Six newborns were healthy and had a successful subsequent course. Two infants died, one in utero because of abruptio placentae and the other one 1 month post partum because of a cerebral haematoma. After a mean follow-up of eighteen months, thrombocytopenia is still present in two women, despite the continuous treatment. In conclusion, ITP rather rarely coincides with pregnancy. Treatment is usually successful for the mother but the risk for the fetus remains considerably high.

[SHBG serum level in women with endometriosis before, during and after long-term danazol therapy]. / SHBG-Serumspiegel bein Frauen mit Endometriose vor, während und nach Danazol-Langzeittherapie.

Ten patients with endometriosis, aged from 21 to 37 years, were treated with danazol at a dosage level of 200 mg three times daily for 6 months. Three blood samples were drawn 60 min apart for evaluation of the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), before danazol administration (4th day of the cycle), during the last two weeks of the six-month therapy and three months after the cessation of treatment (4th day of the cycle). In contrast to that, SHBG levels were also evaluated in ten normal women, aged 21-37 years (4th day of the cycle). It was found that: a) SHGB values were significantly higher in patients with endometriosis than in the control group (p < 0.01), b) danazol resulted in significant decrease of SHBG levels (p < 0.001), c) there was no correlation between SHBG levels before and during danazol administration, and d) SHBG levels were significantly lower three months after the cessation of danazol than before the administration of the medication (p < 0.05), while these levels were not significantly different, compared with those of normal women. Our results support the view, that SHBG production disturbances might interfere with the possible pathogenetic mechanisms of infertility observed in endometriosis.