Fetal transient tricuspid valve regurgitation: sonographic features and clinical evolution.

PURPOSE: To analyze the prevalence, the sonographic features, the clinical evolution and significance of fetal tricuspid valve regurgitation (TR). STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective study. Serial ultrasound examinations were performed at 20-23, at 26-29 and at 30-34 gestational weeks in 675 consecutive singleton pregnancies with fetal normal growth and normal cardiac anatomy. The fetal tricuspid valve regurgitation was classified according to its duration, to the peak of jet maximum velocity and to its maximum spatial extension. A clinical examination and echocardiography were performed in neonates after birth. RESULTS: During the first examination (20-23 weeks), 32 cases of tricuspid valve regurgitation were identified. The prevalence of tricuspid regurgitation was 4.74%. The large majority of TR cases were not-holosystolic (87.5%), with a maximum velocity below 2 m/sec (80-130 cm/sec in 84% cases and 180-200 cm/sec in 16% cases) and with a little spatial extension (type I or II in 87.5% cases). Following this hemodynamic phenomenon during the following weeks, we found that it disappeared around 29 weeks in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Tricuspid regurgitation observed during the second trimester can be considered a transient and functional hemodynamic phenomenon, without apparent pathological significance.

Potential effects of chocolate on human pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: This trial was undertaken to evaluate the effects of high-cocoa-content chocolate supplementation in pregnancy on several haematochemical and clinical parameters. The study had as reference population the pregnant women requesting an obstetric control at Outpatient Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the S. Maria della Misericordia University Hospital, Perugia, Italy. Candidates who participated in this study were all Caucasian women aged 18-40 years, who had a single gestation pregnancy between 11th + 0 and 13th + 0 week gestational age. METHODS: We conducted a single-center randomized controlled trial. The pregnant women selected were randomized into Group A, which received daily doses of 30 g of chocolate (70% cocoa), and Group B, which was free to increase their diet with other foods. RESULTS: Ninety women were randomized. Significant difference was found between the two groups for diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.05), systolic (p < 0.0001) and levels of liver enzymes, with values lower in Group A than in Group B. Total cholesterol levels and weight gain in Group A did not increase more than in Group B. CONCLUSIONS: A modest daily intake of high-cocoa-content chocolate contributes to reduce blood pressure, glycemic and liver pattern during pregnancy without affecting the weight gain.