Does transperineal ultrasound predict the risk of perineal trauma in women with term pregnancy? A prospective observational study.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of perineal trauma during childbirth and to assess the correlations of the pelvic floor dimensions and fetal head station with obstetric trauma in a prospectively recruited cohort of women. METHODS: The study included women with a gestational age of at least 37 weeks, who were carrying a single fetus in a cephalic presentation. Transperineal ultrasound (TPU) was performed prior to the onset of labor or labor induction. The purpose was to measure the anteroposterior diameter (APD) of the levator ani muscle (LAM) and the angle of progression, at both rest and maximum Valsalva maneuver. The head-perineum distance was assessed only at rest. RESULTS: A total of 296 women were included. Of the 253 women who delivered vaginally, 19% (48/253) experienced no perineal trauma, 18.2% (46/253) received an episiotomy during childbirth, 34.4% (87/253) sustained a first-degree laceration, 25.3% (64/253) had a second-degree laceration, and 3.2% had a third- or fourth-degree laceration (8/253). Women with episiotomy had a significantly shorter median APD under Valsalva than women without perineal trauma. Furthermore, women with LAM coactivation (identified by a negative difference between the APD at Valsalva and the APD at rest) were approximately three times more likely to undergo an operative vaginal delivery and over five times more likely to sustain a third- or fourth-degree tear during childbirth than women who exhibited normal relaxation of the LAM during the Valsalva maneuver. CONCLUSION: TPU may predict the risk of perineal trauma in women with term pregnancy during childbirth.

Partial vs. complete course of antenatal corticosteroid prophylaxis: An Italian single center retrospective study.

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of preterm infants given 12 vs. 24mg of betamethasone prophylaxis to understand whether a partial course of antenatal corticosteroids (CCS) could prevent or mitigate the major preterm birth complications. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center cohort study including neonates born between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation from 2001 to 2019 at the University Hospital of Udine. The study population was divided into two groups: one group received 12mg, and another received a 24mg dose of betamethasone before the delivery. A separate analysis was performed for single and multiple pregnancies. The two groups were evaluated for various neonatal outcomes. Results: The study population included a total of 1,258 pregnancies and 1,543 neonates delivered between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation, of which 1,022 (803 single and 219 multiple pregnancies) were exposed to the complete CCS prophylaxis, whereas 236 (192 single and 44 multiple pregnancies) received the incomplete CCS prophylaxis. In single pregnancies, as for maternal characteristics, the most significant differences observed between the two groups are the following: a higher prevalence of spontaneous vaginal deliveries in the incomplete CCS prophylaxis (36.46 vs. 23.91%) and, by contrast, a higher prevalence of cesarean deliveries in the complete CCS prophylaxis group (75.72 vs. 63.02%). As for neonatal outcomes, the low Apgar score in the first and fifth min was significantly more prevalent in the incomplete CCS prophylaxis group compared with the complete CCS prophylaxis group. The group of incomplete CCS prophylaxis reported a higher occurrence of the following outcomes: IVH grade 3-4 (7.81 vs. 3.74%, p < 0.05), PVL (7.29 vs. 1.99% p < 0.05), ROP (23.96 vs. 18.06% p = 0.062), and RDS (84.38 vs. 78.83% p = 0.085). After adjusting for covariates, the complete CCS prophylaxis group in single pregnancies was significantly protective for IVH grade 3-4, PVL, and low Apgar's scores. Similar results were found in multiple pregnancies except for RDS. Discussion: This retrospective single-center cohort study found that, compared with preterm infants treated with 24mg betamethasone in utero, those given half course of betamethasone had a significantly higher prevalence of IVH grade 3-4, PVL, RDS, and lower Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min. In conclusion, the evidence from this single-center retrospective study supports the preference for the complete CCS prophylaxis in women at risk of preterm birth because of its beneficial effect on the main adverse outcomes.

Rare spontaneous monochorionic dizygotic twins: a case report and a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Monochorionic dizygotic twins are a rare condition, mostly related to assisted reproductive technology. This type of twinning is burdened by the same risk of pregnancy complications found in monochorionic monozygotic pregnancies. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of spontaneous monochorionic dizygotic twins sharing situs inversus abdominalis and isolated levocardia, with only one twin affected by biliary atresia with splenic malformation syndrome. We also conducted a literature review of the 14 available documented monochorionic dizygotic twin gestations spontaneously conceived. CONCLUSIONS: It is still unclear how this unusual type of twinning can occur in spontaneous conception. The evidence so far suggest the importance to timely diagnose the chorionicity, in order to adequately manage the typical complications associated with monochorionicity.

Menstrual Pain and Elasticity of Uterine Cervix.

Menstrual pain is consequent to intense uterine contraction aimed to expel menstrual flow through downstream uterine cervix. Herein it was evaluated whether characteristics of uterine cervix are associated with intensity of menstrual pain. Ultrasound elastography was used to analyze cervix elasticity of 75 consecutive outpatient women. Elasticity was related to intensity of menstrual pain defined by a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Four regions of interest (ROI) were considered: internal uterine orifice (IUO), anterior (ACC) and posterior cervical (PCC) compartment and middle cervical canal (MCC). Tissue elasticity, evaluated by color score (from 0.5 = blue/violet (low elasticity) to 3.0 = red (high elasticity), and percent tissue deformation was analyzed. Elasticity of IUO was lower (p = 0.0001) than that of MCC or ACC, and it was negatively related (R2 = 0.428; p = 0.0001) to menstrual VAS (CR -2.17; 95%CI -3.80, -0.54; p = 0.01). Presence of adenomyosis (CR 3.24; 95% CI 1.94, 4.54; p = 0.0001) and cervix tenderness at clinical examination (CR 2.74; 95% CI 1.29, 4.20; p = 0.0004), were also independently related to menstrual VAS. At post hoc analysis, women with vs. without menstrual pain had lower IUO elasticity, expressed as color score (0.72 ± 0.40 vs. 0.92 ± 0.42; p = 0.059), lower percent tissue deformation at IUO (0.09 ± 0.05 vs. 0.13 ± 0.08; p = 0.025), a higher prevalence of cervical tenderness at bimanual examination (36.2% vs. 9.5%; p = 0.022) and a higher prevalence of adenomyosis (46.5% vs. 19.9%; p = 0.04). These preliminary data indicate that IUO elasticity is associated with the presence and the intensity of menstrual pain. Mechanisms determining IUO elasticity are useful to be explored.