Routine betamethasone therapy of non-hydropic fetuses with CPAM - the way to improve perinatal outcome?

Authors discuss novel approach to the management of fetal congenital pulmonary cystic malformation (CPAM) and possible benefit of routine administration of betamethasone, which is currently recommended only for severe cases. The article presents authors' own experience with antenatally diagnosed CPAM and describes 4 cases of prenatally diagnosed CPAM without hydrops treated by two doses of betamethasone at 21-31 weeks of gestation with the aim of improving the perinatal prognosis by effect on not only mortality but also postnatal morbidity. Article also summarizes current knowledge on all aspects of the prenatal CPAM focusing on its treatment options. Data were obtained from the literature search based on the PubMed and Scopus database with additional search of particular articles from reference list of the selected publications.All 4 patients from the case reports showed regression of the pulmonary mass after maternal administration of betamethasone with 100 % survival rate. Even though it is not possible to say if the CPAM regression was due to the betamethasone treatment, we did not observe any complication in relation to the treatment and all cases survived until discharge. During the literature search, we did not find any data on betamethasone administration in non-hydropic fetuses with CPAM in relation to the overall perinatal and postnatal morbidity, neither data comparing the outcome between the treated versus observed only fetuses.Routine betamethasone treatment should be discussed in antenatally diagnosed CPAM cases without fetal hydrops in order to reduce the perinatal morbidity associated with CPAM (Tab. 1, Ref. 47). Keywords: betamethasone, CPAM (congenital pulmonary adenomatoid malformation), fetal therapy.

Clinical implications of the glucokinase impaired function - GCK MODY today.

Heterozygous inactivating mutations of the glucokinase (GCK) gene are causing GCK-MODY, one of the most common forms of the Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY). GCK-MODY is characterized by fasting hyperglycemia without apparent worsening with aging and low risk for chronic vascular complications. Despite the mild clinical course, GCK-MODY could be misdiagnosed as type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In the diagnostic process, the clinical suspicion is often based on the clinical diagnostic criteria for GCK-MODY and should be confirmed by DNA analysis. However, there are several issues in the clinical and also in genetic part that could complicate the diagnostic process. Most of the people with GCK-MODY do not require any pharmacotherapy. The exception are pregnant women with a fetus which did not inherit GCK mutation from the mother. Such a child has accelerated growth, and has increased risk for diabetic foetopathy. In this situation the mother should be treated with substitutional doses of insulin. Therefore, distinguishing GCK-MODY from gestational diabetes in pregnancy is very important. For this purpose, special clinical diagnostic criteria for clinical identification of GCK-MODY in pregnancy are used. This review updates information on GCK-MODY and discusses several currently not solved problems in the clinical diagnostic process, genetics, and treatment of this type of monogenic diabetes.

Single­incision mesh vs sacrospinous ligament fixation in posthysterectomy women at a three-year follow-up: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVES: The primary clinical objective was to prospectively compare the effectiveness of the "single­incisionMESH" technique versus sacrospinous ligament fixation (ACSSF) in correcting the defect of pelvic organ prolapse(POP) in the anterior and apical compartments, Their effectiveness was assessed at a 1-year/3-year follow-up (FU). METHODS: In the period of 2013-2015, we have randomized 146 women into two groups, namely 73 into ACSSF group and 73 into MESH groupRESULTS: At 1-year/3-year FU, we achieved an effectiveness of 92 %/87 % in the point Ba (≤‒1 cm) in the MESH group (48/52; 40/46) vs 70 %/66 % in the ACSSF group (35/50; 30/45); (p = 0.005/p = 0.021). At 1-year/3-year FU, in the area of point C (≤‒1 cm), we achieved a 94 %/91 % effectiveness in the MESH group (49/52; 42/46) vs 90 %/80 % in the ACSSF group (45/50; 36/45); (p = 0.005/p = 0.192). In the MESH group, we observed a more frequent occurrence of "de novo" SUI (11 % vs 6 %) and a defect in the unoperated (posterior) compartment (18 % vs 8 %); the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that the vaginal synthetic mesh repair of POP did not improve women's outcomes in terms of effectiveness or adverse effects, while the patient satisfaction is the same as compared to that with sacrospinous ligament fixation at a 3­year FU. In gynecology, there are situations in which the comparison replaces the scientific solution (Tab. 5, Fig. 2, Ref. 50). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: sacrospinous ligament fixation, quality of life index, synthetic mesh, randomized trial, prolapse.

Patients experiences after hospitalization at Gynecologic Obstetrics Department: Identifying parts for improvement.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the quality of the hospital care at individual departments of the clinic from the patient's perspective using a standard questionnaire. DESIGN: Retrospective observational studies. SETTING: 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University hospital Bratislava, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the study we included all patients who were hospitalized in II. GPK from 1. 1. 2019 to 1. 3. 2019. When the patient was released, they received a HCAHPS questionnaire. Obtained results were statistically processed and compared with publicly available data from all USA hospitals. RESULTS: We received 481 questionnaires suitable for processing. 53.2% of patients evaluated the clinic as the best possible. 57.4% of patients would definitely recommend the clinic to their family and friends. The biggest difference between patients who rated the clinic as the best and those who rated it low were in nurse communication (OR: 6.19, CI: 4.46-8.63). At maternity ward we haven't found any statistical effect in impact of age, but in nurses communication, pain management, communiation about medicines we found significant statistical differences in impact of different education between women. CONCLUSION: The quality of nurses and doctors communication and instructing patients about medication has a significant impact on the clinic's evaluation. Women with university education at maternity ward evaluate quality of hospital care stricter, regardles of age.

Covert postpartum urinary retention.

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to determine the frequency of increased postvoiding residual volumes (PVRV) 3 days after delivery and to examine the associated risk factors. BACKGROUND: Increased PVRV ‒ covert postpartum urinary retention, is an asymptomatic condition with possible long-term adverse effects. While early diagnosis and appropriate management can avoid long­term complications, screening is not routinely performed. By identifying risk factors, we could define the group of patients suitable for screening. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a prospective observational study carried out over a 3-month period at the university teaching hospital in Bratislava, Slovakia. All participants underwent ultrasound determination of PVRV while 80 ml and more on day 3 was considered pathological. RESULTS: A total of 429 women were included in the study. The prevalence of covert post-partum urinary retention was 9.2 %. Assisted vaginal delivery (ventouse, forceps) and episiotomy were risk factors for post-partum urinary retention (18.7 % vs 6.1 %; p = 0.0053; 52.1 % vs 35.7 %; p = 0.0483; respectively). CONCLUSION: Our observations confirmed the existence of PVRV of 80 ml and more on day 3 in almost 10% of women who had delivered at our clinic. The results of our study prove that instrumental delivery represents a considerable obstetrical-pediatric risk factor for PVRV. Our data support the need of adopting a risk-factor-based approach to PVRV screening as part of postpartum bladder care (Tab. 2, Fig. 1, Ref. 12).

The value of cordocentesis in current management of intrauterine patient.

OBJECTIVES: Analyzing the clinical group to evaluate current indications for cordocenteses, their complications and data obtained in further pregnancy management. METHODS: Retrospective analysis evaluated 92 cordocenteses (diagnostic and therapeutic) performed during the period of 2007‒2018. These were performed between 17 and 36 weeks of gestation under ultrasound guidance by a specialist at 2nd Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University. RESULTS: Out of 92 procedures, 78 were diagnostic and 14 were therapeutic. The diagnostic cordocentesis was successful in 97.4 % and intrauterine therapy was successful in 85.7 %. There were 2 (2.56 %) diagnostic cordocenteses complicated by fetal demise and 2 (14 %) intrauterine demises in therapeutic cordocentesis. The pathological karyotype was detected in 14.5 %. Aneuploidia was present in 4 cases (44.4 %), mosaicism in 4 cases (44.4 %) and triploidia in one case (11.1 %). CONCLUSION: Despite of novel molecular genetic technique cordocentesis still plays unreplaceable role in current prenatal diagnosis and treatment. The risk of complications of cordocentesis increases depending on the severity of fetal pathology in pathologic pregnancies. In some situations it can be used as a useful tool for original fetal diagnosis and therapy (Tab. 3, Ref. 20).

A novel fetal sequence patogenesis resulting in oral meningoencephalocele.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze a rare triad of intracranial fetal pathologies and clinical study of the novel defined sequence pathogenesis based on prenatal and postmortem findings. METHODS: Complex multidisciplinary clinical analysis and review of up-to-date literature. RESULTS: In an 18-gestational-week fetus the screening ultrasound scan resembled the semilobar type of holoprosencephaly and oral tumor. After the indicated termination of pregnancy, the histopathology results confirmed another pathologies - oral meningoencephalocele, teratoma of the sellar area and large arachnoidal cyst of the anterior cerebral fossa. The surprising final results were evaluated by specialists in prenatal diagnosis, histopathology, genetics, neurology, and radiology. CONCLUSION: We defined the final diagnosed triad oral meningoencephalocele - intracranial sellar teratoma- arachnoidal cyst as a novel sequence defect malformation. In the detailed sequence pathogenesis, the intracranial sellar teratoma created an aperture for meningoencephalocele in the cranial base and the arachnoidal cyst facilitated, by its growth and pressure, the protrusion of the brain tissues (Fig. 4, Ref. 10). Text in PDF www.elis.sk.

Long term follow-up of the patients with pelvic organ prolapse after the mesh implantation using strict indication criteria.

OBJECTIVES: Transvaginal polypropylene mesh implantation is one of the techniques used for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair. The surgery outcomes depend on the indication criteria used. The aim of our study was to evaluate the outcomes of the mesh implantation using the strict indication criteria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 47 women aged 61.7±8.3 years with pelvic organ prolapse (POP-Q≥2) and a history of other surgery in the pelvic region outcomes of the mesh implantation were evaluated for up to 7 years (range 1-7 years). RESULTS: Forty six of 47 patients (97.8%) had a successful mesh implantation (10 anterior, 22 posterior, 14 combined). Peroperative complications occurred in 3 of 47 patients (6.4%). The anatomic cure (POP-Q≤1) was achieved in 93.5% patients with mesh at 6 months after surgery. Any of the postoperative complications occurred in 16 of 46 women (34.8%). Significantly lower risk of complications was found in the group aged over 65 years compared to the younger patients (p=0.005). CONCLUSION: This is the first study on the mesh implantation including women only with the history or other surgery in the pelvic region, achieving high anatomic success rate and low risk of complications. Thus, our data support the use of the strict indication criteria for this procedure (Tab. 2, Fig. 2, Ref. 14).

Sclerosis tuberosa and pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a review of Tuberous sclerosis complex and its complications during the pregnancy from up to date scientific literature. DESIGN: Complex systematic review of the literature. SETTING: 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Bratislava, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. METHODS: Complex analysis of the syndrome, systematic search of MEDLINE and Slovak Medical Library. The reason to create a complex review of this syndrome was our clinical experience with one of the most acute lifethreatening condition of this syndrome - acute retroperitoneal haemorrhage in the pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Tuberous sclerosis can cause a rare, but potentially lifethreatening complications, especially during the pregnancy. These should be carefully dispesarized and in complicated cases acute radical management should be considered.

Myoma expulsion after uterine artery embolization.

Uterine artery embolization (UAE) has become a standard therapy in the treatment of symptomatic uterine myomas. The procedure is associated with a few complications. One of them is myoma expulsion. A 32-year-old woman was sent to our hospital with diagnosed intramural myoma with dysmenorrhea and pressure symptoms. UAE was performed since the patient preferred conservative treatment. The procedure was without any complications. Three weeks after embolization, she was readmitted because of vaginal discharge and minor bleeding. We diagnosed expulsion of necrotic myoma and performed transvaginal resection. Four months later, the patient is symptom free. Expulsion of intramural myoma can be thus considered as definite treatment and not a complication of embolization therapy.

Implants in operative therapy in women with pelvic organ prolapse--two years of experience.

OBJECTIVES: The authors present their first experience with a new operative method (within two years' period in 18 patients) solving pelvic prolapse in women by means of installation of polypropylene (Prolene) mesh implant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors corrected various forms and stages of POP, particularly prolapse of the vaginal stump after hysterectomy, through the installation of Prolene mesh implants or the systems Prolift Anterior, Prolift Posterior and Prolift Total. RESULTS: Short-term results (follow-up 24 months) are promising. The patients present no significant subjective complaints and the objective findings are considerably improved. The authors report one particular case of point perforation of the urinary bladder with no side effects and they have not noticed any serious postoperative complications so far. CONCLUSION: Nowadays, considering a new methodology the following factors are required: multicentre data collection, determination of rational indicating criteria (together with contraindications), analysis of per- and postoperative complications and publishing continuous clinical outcomes. This is the way how to find an adequate place for implants in a wide spectrum of operations regarding pelvic floor repair (Tab. 4, Fig. 5, Ref. 13). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.