Lipid Disorders in Pregnancy.

Dyslipidemia represents a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In addition, severe hypertriglyceridemia is an important cause of acute pancreatitis. Accordingly, the increase in serum lipid levels that is observed during pregnancy has potentially important implications. The management of dyslipidemia in pregnancy is further complicated by the lack of safety data during this period for most of the lipid-lowering agents. In the present review, we discuss the most important lipid disorders in pregnant women and their management. Pregnancy is characterized by increases in both low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride levels, which might result in severe complications both for the mother and the fetus. Accordingly, LDL-C and triglyceride levels should be monitored during pregnancy, particularly in women with a history of dyslipidemia. Diet is the mainstay of management of dyslipidemia in pregnant women and apheresis can also be considered in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or severe hypertriglyceridemia. However, there is a pressing need for studies that evaluate the safety of lipid-lowering agents during pregnancy.

Early delivery or expectant management for late preterm preeclampsia: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, there is no consensus regarding the timing of delivery in women with non-severe preeclampsia at the late preterm period. The aim of the present meta-analysis is to compare expectant management with immediate delivery in pregnant women with preeclampsia between 34+0 and 36+6 gestational weeks, in terms of maternal and neonatal outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A search was conducted until October 1, 2020 and eligible studies were identified in MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central), the US Registry of clinical trials (www.clinicaltrials.gov), and sources of gray literature without limitations concerning the publication dates and languages. Randomized controlled trials, comparing planned delivery vs expectant management in women with preeclampsia at 34-37 weeks were included. The primary outcomes were neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and progression to eclampsia. Secondary outcomes were HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count) syndrome, severe preeclampsia, composite adverse maternal outcome (defined by the presence of any of the potential preeclampsia-related complications, ranging from severe hypertension to maternal death), neonatal respiratory disease, and respiratory distress syndrome. Relative risks (RRs) and mean differences with 95% CI were used for the estimation of the effect sizes; the quality of the evidence was assessed per GRADE guidelines. RESULTS: The electronic search yielded 10 721 potential studies, of which six were fully reviewed and three (1773 participants) were included in the meta-analysis. Immediate delivery increased the risk for NICU admission, (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.05-1.45) and decreased the risk for the composite adverse maternal outcome (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.78-0.93). There were no differences for eclampsia (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.16-1.85), HELLP syndrome (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.25-1.33), severe preeclampsia (RR 0.27, 95% CI 0.02-3.52), respiratory disease of neonate (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.75-1.44), and respiratory distress syndrome (RR 2.3, 95% CI 0.73-7.25). CONCLUSIONS: Immediate delivery of women with non-severe preeclampsia at the period of late prematurity decreases the risk of a composite adverse maternal outcome by 14%, at the cost of an increase in NICU admissions by 23%. The overall quality of the evidence for these outcomes is high, indicating a high degree of certainty for the results.

Human papilloma virus infection and miscarriage: is there an association?

Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract. HPV infection is more prevalent in pregnant than in age-matched non-pregnant women and its prevalence increases as pregnancy progresses. A number of reports evaluated the role of HPV infection in miscarriages. In the present review, we summarize the existing evidence regarding the association between HPV infection and miscarriage. It is still unclear whether HPV infection is associated with increased risk for miscarriage. Studies in the field yielded conflicting findings and their conclusions are limited by a small sample size and/or methodological limitations. On the other hand, preclinical data support a role of HPV infection in placental dysfunction. Given the high prevalence of HPV infection and the possibility that vaccination against HPV might protect against miscarriage, more studies are needed to elucidate whether this common infection is associated with increased risk for miscarriage.