Cervical length should be measured for women with placenta previa: cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To study the relevance between cervical length (CL) and different maternal/neonatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated with placenta previa/accreta. METHODS: Three hundred twenty-eight women, who had medically free singleton live pregnancies with the diagnosis of placenta previa and/or accreta, were included and divided regarding their CL into two groups. Threatened preterm labor, maternal tocolysis, multiple gestations, polyhydramnios, ruptured fetal membranes, fetal complications, history of cervical conization, and the presence of cervical cerclage were the exclusion criteria. Demographic data, obstetric history, as well as, the courses of the complicated pregnancies were collected and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The short CL group had significantly less distance between the placenta and the internal cervical os (p-value < .001) Also, they showed more ultrasound parameters of complete placenta previa with anterior location (p-value < .001 and .003 respectively) and placental adherence (21.8 versus 41.1%). Women with short cervix had significantly higher rates of preterm birth, antepartum hemorrhage, emergency cesarean sections, intraoperative estimated blood loss, massive bleeding, prevalence of placental adherence and cesarean hysterectomy (p-value < .001 for the entire outcomes). Multivariable binary logistic regression showed that CL (<30 mm) was a significant independent risk factor in prediction of severe hemorrhage, PTB, emergency CS, placental adherence, cesarean hysterectomy (p-value < .001 for adverse maternal outcomes) and low cord Ph (p-value = .016). CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of the cervical length could be a crucial step in the work-up and decision making for pregnancies complicated with abnormally situated and/or adherent placenta as it is strongly associated with a wide range of maternal and neonatal morbidities.

A triplet's ectopic pregnancy in a non-communicating rudimentary horn and spontaneous rupture.

Our aim is to feature the management of ectopic pregnancy in a non-communicating rudimentary horn. It has a remarkable life-threatening potential, being rare and difficult to be considered during differential diagnosis of acute abdomen or sudden maternal collapse in early pregnancy. Therefore, this is a report of mid-trimester triplet's ectopic pregnancy which presented with sudden repeated syncopal attacks and hemodynamic instability that necessitated emergency laparotomy to treat ruptured non-communicating rudimentary horn. The rarity of this clinical condition can lead to multiple challenges. When a diagnosis is confirmed, the intervention plans should be independently tailored based on the patient's age, obstetric history, fertility wishes, as well as, surgeon's experience. Moreover, most cases passed unnoticed till complications took place. Thus, early diagnosis of Mullerian anomalies preconceptionally or even during the initial antenatal visits is crucial step regarding the avoidance of such catastrophic maternal outcomes.

The effect of gum chewing on the return of bowel motility after planned cesarean delivery: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To endorse the impact of chewing gum on the intestinal functions' restoration, hospital stay and gastrointestinal complications after planned cesarean delivery (CD).Methods: Women aged between 20 and 35 years scheduled for planned CD; either first or repeated, with term, singleton, viable and healthy pregnancy at obstetrics and gynecology department, Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region, Khamis Mushayt, Saudi Arabia were invited to participate and randomized if eligible into three groups. The first group chewed sugar-free gum 2 h after recovery at least for half an hour and at 2-h interval during daytime. The second group received oral fluids 6 h postoperatively, while the third group was the control group. The primary outcome measure was the time to first passage of stool. The secondary outcomes included the time of the first passage of flatus, the first hearing of normal intestinal sounds, the duration of hospital stay the duration of parenteral therapy by intravenous fluids, the time of initiating breast-feeding and the cost of hospital stay. The study was prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02386748).Results: The study included 372 women randomized into three groups (124 women in each group). Chewing gum significantly improved intestinal recovery with faster onset of bowel movements, first audible intestinal sounds, passage of flatus and passage of stool (p = .0001). It was associated with significantly shorter duration of hospital stay and parenteral therapy duration (p = .0001). Abdominal distension, vomiting and ileus postoperatively were significantly higher in nonchewing gum groups. Neither paralytic ileus nor side effects were recorded with gum use.Conclusion: Chewing gum, within 2 h postoperatively, is a simple, safe and well-tolerated intervention that can boost rapid intestinal recovery and shorten hospital stay after planned cesarean deliveries.

How can methods of placental delivery in cesarean section affect perioperative blood loss? A randomized controlled trial of controlled cord traction versus manual removal of placenta.

AIM: Of the different described methods of placental delivery during cesarean section (CS), manual removal and cord traction are the most commonly used techniques. The ideal method of placental delivery during CS is still a conflicting issue as the data derived from the previous studies are widely heterogeneous and inconsistent. This study has investigated the effect of two different methods of placental delivery, controlled cord traction and manual removal, on perioperative blood loss. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial recruited 345 pregnant women scheduled for elective cesarean delivery at term. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to have their placentae delivered either by manual removal or cord traction. Perioperative blood loss was the study primary outcome measure. RESULTS: A total of 300 women were included in the final analysis. The longer placental delivery time in the cord traction group (n = 150) (60 s. [45-61.25] versus 45 s. [35-60] in the manual placental delivery group, P < 0.001) was associated with a statistically significant but clinically insignificant higher visually estimated blood loss (500 mL [interquartile range, 500-700] versus 500 mL [interquartile range, 400-500] in the manual removal group, P < 0.001). Although there were statistically significant differences in the hemoglobin levels, postoperatively, these differences were clinically insignificant and were not reflected in the corresponding deficits and percentages of deficit at 12- and 48-h postoperative intervals. CONCLUSIONS: Of the studied placental delivery techniques, there were no clinically significant differences in terms of the considered intraoperative and postoperative outcomes; hence, the practice of placental delivery can be left up to obstetrician's discretion and intraoperative scenario.

Knot positioning during McDonald cervical cerclage, does it make a difference? A cohort study.

Objective: To study the effect of McDonald cerclage knot position on the different maternal and neonatal outcomes. Methods: This historical cohort study included women with singleton pregnancy who had a prophylactic McDonald cervical cerclage between 1 May 2010 and 31 September 2017. Maternal and neonatal outcome parameters were compared between the anterior and posterior knot cerclage procedures. The primary outcome measure was the rate of term birth. Results: 550 Women had a prophylactic McDonald cervical cerclage, 306 with anterior knot (Group A) and 244 with posterior knot (Group B). There were no statistically significant differences regarding gestational age (GA) at delivery (36.3 ± 4.2 versus 35.8 ± 5.3 for groups A and B respectively), term birth rate, post-cerclage cervical length, symptomatic vaginitis, urinary tract infection, difficult cerclage removal and cervical lacerations. Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences as regards the studied neonatal outcomes including take home babies, neonatal intensive care admission, respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal sepsis. Survival analysis on GA at delivery demonstrated no statistically significant difference as regards the proportion of term deliveries in the anterior and posterior knot cerclage groups (log-rank test p-value = .478). Conclusions: Knot positioning during McDonald cervical cerclage, anteriorly or posteriorly, didn't significantly impact the studied maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Oral Diclofenac Potassium Versus Hyoscine-N-Butyl Bromide in Reducing Pain Perception during Office Hysteroscopy: ARandomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of oral diclofenac potassium versus hyoscine-N-butyl bromide (HBB) in reducing pain perception in patients undergoing diagnostic office hysteroscopy (OH). DESIGN: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial (Canadian Task Force classification I). SETTING: A university hospital. INTERVENTIONS: One-hundred twenty-nine patients were divided randomly into 3 groups (n = 43 in each group); group 1 received 50mg diclofenac potassium, group 2 received 20mg HBB, and group 3 received placebo tablets. All tablets were taken orally 1hour before OH. The primary outcome was the participant's self-rated pain perception using the 10-point visual analog scale during the procedure. The secondary outcomes included the visual analog scale score 30 minutes after OH, ease of OH assessment using a 10-cm scale, duration of OH, and adverse effects of the study medications. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Both the diclofenac and HBB groups showed significant pain score reduction compared with the placebo group (p = .001). The mean pain score in the diclofenac group was significantly lower than the HBB group (2.12 ± 1.03vs 3.02 ± 1.55, respectively; p = .002). The pain scores in the diclofenac and HBB groups immediately after OH were significantly lower than the placebo group (p = .001), and the mean pain score in the diclofenac group was significantly lower than the HBB group (1.23 ± 0.57vs 1.56 ± 0.73, respectively; p = .024). The ease of procedure score was significantly lower in the diclofenac and HBB groups than the placebo group (p = .003 and p = .005, respectively). The mean duration of the procedure was significantly less in the diclofenac group (p = .01). Fourteen women (32.6%) in the HBB group experienced dizziness and 2 women (4.6%) had nausea, whereas only 4 women (9.3%) in the diclofenac group had dizziness and 2 women (4.6%) had vomiting. CONCLUSION: Oral diclofenac potassium administration 1hour before diagnostic OH reduces the procedure pain with subsequent easier and shorter OH duration. Oral HBB is less effective than diclofenac potassium with more adverse effects.

Mechanical induction of labor and ecbolic-less vaginal birth after cesarean section: A cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: During delivery counseling, some women with previous uncomplicated cesarean section (CS) wish mechanical induction of labor (IOL) but they are not accepting the added risk of using ecbolics to induce and/or augment labor. The objective of the study was to assess the safety and efficacy of the isolated use of transcervical Foley's catheter balloon as a mean of mechanical cervical ripening (CR)/IOL and successful ecbolic-less vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort study was conducted in two tertiary care maternity hospitals between October 2013 and July 2016 and recruited women with singleton pregnancy and cephalic presentation who had previous one uncomplicated CS and were scheduled for mechanical CR/IOL at term for routine obstetric indications. No ecbolics were used for induction or augmentation of labor as per patients' request. The primary outcome variable was the rate of successful VBAC. RESULTS: 108 Women had a completed trial of mechanical CR/IOL without ecbolics till delivery. Active labor started in 94 women (87%), however only 43 women (39.8%) had successful VBAC. No woman in the study cohort had uterine rupture, scar dehiscence, uterine tachysystole, postpartum hemorrhage and/or puerperal sepsis. No cases were admitted to intensive care units and there were no maternal mortalities. Prior successful VBAC and post-expulsion BS were the only independent predictors for successful VBAC and shorter duration of labor after balloon expulsion. CONCLUSION: Mechanical IOL with the mere use of transcervical Foley's catheter is a safe and effective method of VBAC in women refusing use of ecbolics.

Prediction of recurrent ectopic pregnancy: A five-year follow-up cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of different clinical risk factors in the prediction of recurrent ectopic pregnancies (REP). STUDY DESIGN: This cohort study was carried out at a tertiary-care maternity hospital in Saudi Arabia, between January 2010 and June 2017. All women with a primary ectopic pregnancy (EP) were consecutively recruited, thoroughly assessed and followed up for a minimum duration of five-years (5.6 ±â€¯0.61 years) to diagnose the nature and location of the subsequent pregnancies. The primary outcome measure was the occurrence of REP, while the secondary outcomes included intrauterine pregnancy, the pregnancy of unknown location and infertility rates. RESULTS: A total of 272 women with a primary ectopic pregnancy (EP) were initially recruited, 217 women were included in the final analysis, among them 41 (18.9%) women had REP. Univariate analysis showed that women who subsequently developed REP had more prevalent prior miscarriages, evacuation of retained products of conception (ERPC), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and consanguinity, they also had lower hemoglobin levels at the time of primary EP, and lower prevalence of surgical treatment. Among the 143 surgically treated cases, salpingectomy, when compared to salpingostomy, and laparoscopy, when compared with laparotomy, were found to be associated with a lower risk of REP [RR = 0.32 (95% CI, 0.13-0.77) and 0.40 (95% CI, 0.18-0.86) respectively]. The occurrence of a subsequent delivery at any time after the primary EP was protective against REP [RR = 0.39 (95% CI, 0.22-0.68)], this protection is increased by almost nine folds if this delivery occurred at the descendant pregnancy [RR = 0.04 (95% CI, 0.01-0.17)]. Multivariable binary logistic regression revealed that prior PID, treatment modality and presenting hemoglobin level were independent predictors of REP. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted using the predicted probability values derived from the multivariable binary logistic regression model, the area under the ROC curve was 0.792 (95% CI, 0.732-0.844). CONCLUSION: Careful consideration of primary ectopic pregnancy data is a valuable tool to predict the potential risk of recurrence in the future.