Misoprostol in second and early third trimester for termination of pregnancies with fetal anomalies.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of a prostaglandin E1 analog, misoprostol, using different regimens compared with dinoprostone in termination of pregnancies in second and early third trimester complicated by either congenital fetal anomalies or intrauterine fetal demise. METHODS: A retrospective review of 59 pregnancies between 15 and 30 weeks was performed which were terminated due to congenital fetal anomalies or intrauterine fetal demise. In group 1 (n=29) 400 microg oral and 600 microg vaginal misoprostol, in group 2 (n=12) 600 microg vaginal misoprostol and in group 3 (n=18) 0.5 mg dinoprostone gel were given for the termination of the pregnancies. All these groups were evaluated for demographic characteristics and delivery findings. Statistical analysis were performed by one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and chi(2)-test. RESULTS: No significant statistical difference was observed in terms of age, gravidity, parity, previous abortion, gestational week, frequency of prostaglandin usage, and birth weights among the three groups. The time intervals between the first administration and delivery were 20.3 h for oral vaginal misoprostol, 17.3 h for vaginal misoprostol and 22.5 h for the dinoprostone group (P=0.594). Evacuation rates after single doses were similar in all groups (83%, 73% and 72%, respectively). Uterine tachysystole was the only major side effect encountered in the oral-vaginal misoprostol group. CONCLUSIONS: All three regimens yielded similar results for termination of pregnancies in second and third trimester. The major advantage of misoprostol was the cost.

The utilization of immunohistochemical prognostic factor in endometrial adenocarcinoma: is it cost effective?

This study investigated the relation between immunohistochemical prognostic factors and clinical stage and histopathological grade in endometrial adenocarcinoma. Twenty-seven patients with a mean age of 61 (38-74), who underwent radical surgery due to endometrial adenocarcinoma in our hospital between 1983-1998, were re-evaluated. For clinical staging FIGO criteria were used. Histopathological differentiation of the tumor was graded as good (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), and poor (grade 3). Estrogen and progesterone receptors, c-erb B2, UEA 1, Ki-67, PCNA and p53 were studied as immunohistochemical prognostic factors. There were no patients in stages IA and IIIB. Among the prognostic factors, PCNA was the most significantly stained marker, followed by c-erb B2, estrogen and progesterone receptors, regardless of the clinical stage and histopathological grade of the tumor. The least positivity was achieved with Ki-67. There was no significant difference when each prognostic factor was analysed with respect to clinical stage and histopathological grade. In our study no significant relation was found between the prognostic factors and the clinical stage and histopathological differentiation of the tumor. Therefore the cost effectiveness of the utilization of these factors should be reconsidered.

Partial hydatidiform mole with diploid karyotype in a live fetus.

Even though most instances of partial mole are triploid, only a few cases of diploid partial moles have been reported. Prognosis of partial mole is usually better than the complete mole as few cases of partial moles progress to persistent trophoblastic disease. However, the nature and the risks of diploid partial moles are not well established and they seem to be a distinct clinical entity. Here we report a case of partial mole presenting with a 22 weeks live fetus and preeclampsia. Fetal blood sampling was performed for cytogenetic analysis which revealed a diploid (46XY) karyotype. No progression to malignant gestational trophoblastic disease occurred.

The significance of birth weight difference in discordant twins: a level to standardize?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the significance of different degrees of birth weight discordance in twin pregnancies. DESIGN: Population based study. METHODS: Three hundred and eighty-four twin gestations over 20 weeks of gestation during a two-year period ending in 31.12.1995 were retrospectively analyzed. Twins were stratified into six categories according to the percent difference in infant birth weight. The difference in percents was calculated from the larger twin; (Birth weight of larger twin--Birth weight of smaller twin)/Birth weight of larger twin and multiplied with 100. The relationship between different categories and the subsequent perinatal and neonatal outcomes was assessed. RESULTS: Among 384 pairs thirteen patients were identified to have single fetal demise and fourteen patients were documented to have dead fetuses of both twin pairs. Of 357 twin gestations studied 137 (38.4%) had discordance of < 10% and 36 experienced discordance of > 30% (10.1%). The frequency of low APGAR score (< 7) in women with > 30% discordance was higher than that of < 10% group (16.7% vs. 9.5%). Intensive care for infants was required in 30 infants with > 30% birth weight discordance (41.7%) and in 24 cases with < 10% birth weight discordance (8.8%). Thirty-three percent of cases with discordance of > 30% experienced neonatal mortality whereas the corresponding figure for patients with < 10% discordance was 1.5%. CONCLUSION: We postulate that definition of discordant growth in twin gestations should be categorized with respect to gestational week since the level of discordance prejudicing fetal or neonatal jeopardy may vary in different stages of pregnancy.

Emergency hysterectomy in modern obstetric practice. Changing clinical perspective in time.

OBJECTIVE: Emergency hysterectomy in obstetric practice is generally performed in the setting of life-threatening hemorrhage. A retrospective review based on hospital data of 67 patients undergoing emergency peripartum hysterectomy over 10 years was undertaken. METHODS: Comparison of two different time periods regarding the incidence and the indications of obstetric hysterectomies was made. RESULTS: The number of patients with hysterectomy in the first 5 years of the study period (1985-1989) was 43 and during the last 5 years (1990-1994) it was 24. The incidence of hysterectomy during 1985-1989 was 1 in 2495 deliveries and the most common indication for hysterectomy was uterine atony (42%) followed by placenta accreta (25.5%) and uterine rupture (21%). On the other hand, the incidence of hysterectomy during 1990-1994 was 1 in 4228 deliveries and the ranking of indications of hysterectomy was slightly different from group 1 as mostly placenta accreta (41.7%) followed by uterine atony (29.2%). The maternal mortality rate was 4.5% in this series. CONCLUSION: This study showed that over the last decade the incidence of emergency hysterectomy in obstetric practice has declined in our clinic due to availability of high standard obstetric care and more liberal use of cesarean section at risk deliveries, better controlled use of oxytocin and internal iliac artery ligation.

Complications of radical hysterectomy: clinical experience of 115 early stage cervical cancers.

We evaluated the clinical experience of 115 women with early stage cervical cancer who had been operated in our Gynecologic Oncology Clinic. Of these, 85 were in stage I, and 30 in stage II. Intraoperative complications occurred in 16 patients including 3 cases concerning bladder, 1 ureter, 1 aorta, 5 v.cava inferior, 1 internal iliac a., 3 internal iliac v., 1 obturator nerve and 1 rectovaginal septum hematoma formation. Postoperative complications were observed in 38 patients. These were 14 bladder dysfunctions, 10 lymphocyst formations, 6 urinary infections, 12 wound infections, 3 pelvic infections, 2 eviscerations and 1 incisional hernia. However, no death occurred due to intraoperative or postoperative complications. Pelvic lymph node metastases were observed in 32 patients of whom 17 had only unilateral involvement, most often in the obturator region. Para-aortic lymph node metastases were diagnosed in 4 patients, all of whom were in stage II.

Intravaginal naproxen in preterm labour: a preliminary study.

In a preliminary study, the possibility that local inhibition of postaglandin formation may inhibit preterm labour was examined. An intravaginal cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, naproxen sodium, 500 mg was used in cases of preterm labour. The gestational ages of the patients were between 27 and 34 weeks, and they included a triplet pregnancy unresponsive to beta-sympathomimetic therapy. Treatment with intravaginal naproxen sodium was associated with prolongation of pregnancy for more than 6 days in five out of seven patients. No untoward fetal or maternal side-effects were detected.

Conservative management of twin pregnancies with one dead fetus: is it safe?

BACKGROUND: Fetal death in one of the twins is unusual and the management issue of such a condition is not straightforward. METHODS: We reviewed the outcomes of nine twin pregnancies with one dead fetus in whom follow-up period exceeded 3 weeks. RESULTS: The twinning frequency was 8.9 per thousand deliveries and the frequency of subsequent antepartum death of one fetus was found to be 3.8%. The preterm birth rate was 45.5% and the survival rate was 90.1%. The perinatal mortality rate was 12%. Maternal clotting disorder was observed in one patient and treated successfully with heparin. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that these patients are best managed conservatively unless further hazard to the fetus or mother appears.

Endocrinological and clinical analysis of hyperprolactinemic patients with and without ultrasonically diagnosed polycystic ovarian changes.

In the present study we aimed to identify the relationship of hyperprolactinemia and polycystic ovarian changes. We retrospectively analyzed the endocrinological and clinical features of 79 hyperprolactinemic patients detected during a 3-year period ending in March 1995. Patients who had hypothyroidism, macroprolactinoma and drug-induced hyperprolactinemia were excluded from the study. Among 61 hyperprolactinemic patients, 41 (67.2%) had ultrasonographically diagnosed polycystic ovaries (PCO). Prolactin levels in the PCO and non-PCO groups were 32.8 +/- 5.8 and 36.7 +/- 5.1 ng/dl, respectively, which was a significant difference (p < 0.05). Hirsutism was associated with hyperprolactinemia in 55.7% of the patients and was found to be more frequent in the PCO (58.8%) than the non-PCO group (41.2%). The mean Ferriman Gallwey scores and both total and free testosterone levels were significantly higher in the PCO group in comparison to the non-PCO group. In addition, a significantly higher body mass index was detected in patients with PCO. We documented a frequent association between hyperprolactinemia and polycystic ovarian changes and suggested that hyperprolactinemia in PCO is most likely related to a pathologic-endocrinologic milieu.

Low dose ketoconazole is an effective and a relatively safe alternative in the treatment of hirsutism.

Efficacy, clinical and hormonal effect of ketoconazole in 400 mg/day dose was tested in a prospectively-designed study. Twenty four patients with hirsutism according to the Ferriman and Gallwey score (> 8) and elevated blood androgen levels were administered 400 mg/day ketoconazole for 6 months. Basal and posttherapy early follicular phase androgens and biochemical parameters were evaluated. In 22 patients significant improvement and in 2 slight improvement was seen in subjective complaints. No side-effects were observed in these patients other than 2 cases of pruritus (transient), 2 mild gastric upset and 1 mastodynia. All patients completed the study. Low dose ketoconazole seems to be effective in the treatment of hirsutism with relatively few side-effects but still should be reserved as an alternative choice due to the potential for deleterious hepatic effects.

Reproductive outcome after metroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of abdominal metroplasty for symmetric uterine anomalies on reproductive performance. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of 24 patients who conceived following metroplasty for symmetric congenital anomalies during a 5-year period. RESULTS: In patients with poor obstetric histories before surgery, the overall fetal survival rate increased from 2.5%, before treatment to 73.3% after treatment and 90.5% of women gave birth to a surviving infant. The remaining three patients suffering from infertility delivered a full-term infant after metroplasty. Antenatal complications occurred in 56.7% of the pregnancies. CONCLUSION: Abdominal metroplasty clearly improves fetal survival particularly in women suffering from a history of poor obstetric outcome associated with symmetric malformations.

Threshold value of glucose screening tests in pregnancy: could it be standardized for every population?

We aimed to determine a threshold value that perfectly demarcates women at high risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in the Turkish population. One thousand gravid women of 24 to 32 weeks of gestation were given 50 g, 1-hour glucose screening tests. A 100 g, 3-hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed on all patients whose screening test plasma glucose value was 130 mg/dL or greater. The sensitivity and specificity of each screening test value was found, and the GDM rate of each value was calculated. Three-hundred-and-five patients were identified for GTT and 66 were shown to have GDM with two or more abnormal values in GTT. The incidence of GDM was found to be 6.6%. The maximum specificity and sensitivity were met at 140 mg/dL. However, this value underestimated 12% of patients with GDM, and the lowest value for a positive GTT appeared to be 134 mg/dL. We recommend a 135 mg/dL threshold for GTT since this threshold accurately diagnoses almost all women with GDM while eliminating unnecessary GTT.

Malignant degeneration of mature cystic teratomas.

Malignant transformation of benign cystic teratoma is rare and the most common malignancy is squamous cell carcinoma. The diagnosis is rarely made preoperatively and the prognosis is usually poor. We report 4 cases with dermoid cysts showing malignant transformation, 3 with squamous carcinoma and 1 with adenocarcinoma. The patients were within the reproductive age and underwent surgical intervention with intraoperative evaluation. Frozen section identified 2 cases with malignant transformation and staging laparotomy was performed at the initial laparotomy. One of the remaining underwent reoperation following a pregnancy termination and the other refused further surgery. None had metastases and/or capsule invasion. One had tumour rupture during excision and received combined chemotherapy following surgery. Three of the patients remain well and 1 is lost to follow-up.

Anatomic distortion of clinically normal appearing fallopian tube: to what extent does it contribute to infertility?

We analyzed whether patent but anatomically deranged tubes were more commonly encountered in infertile women than in fertile women. The fertile group consisted of 100 women who were apparently normal with respect to fertility and the infertile group consisted of 100 infertile women with no certain etiology identified. The individual tubal structure was recorded at laparoscopy and the results of the two groups were then compared. Tubal pathology was found to be significantly higher in the infertile group; however, this marked difference arose from the contribution of a significantly higher frequency of peritubal pelvic adhesions because no difference was found between the two groups regarding anatomic variations of the fallopian tube. We conclude that tubal derangement which could only be identified with laparoscopy significantly contributes to infertility.

Urinary incontinence in women of reproductive age.

We investigated the prevalence and the consequence of urinary incontinence in the Turkish population, representing a composition of European and Asian populations. During a 12-month period, the standard urinary incontinence questionnaire was answered by 1,250 women of reproductive age who were admitted to the outpatient clinic with various gynecologic complaints, except for women whose main complaints were urinary incontinence. These patients were randomly selected by stratification according to the following five age-groups: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and 40-44. The prevalence of incontinence was measured for each group. Urinary incontinence prevalence was 24.5%; in 6.6% the incontinence occurred at least once daily. The lowest prevalence was found in the younger age-groups (18-29 years) and the highest in 40-44 years of age. Two hundred and sixty-one incontinent women (85%) had never sought medical help. The results indicated that urinary incontinence was common among women of reproductive age and only few sought medical help. We suggest that more public education about women's urinary problems and more attention to this problem by physicians are the mainstays of management.

Vaginal birth following unmonitored labor in patients with prior cesarean section.

Following a previous cesarean section, trial labour followed by spontaneous birth is currently popular but is still debatable. In an effort to assess the risks of unmonitored labor, the outcomes of 165 patients with previous cesarean section who delayed coming to hospital were reviewed. Seventy-one patients were allowed to continue labor and 62 achieved successful vaginal delivery, a success rate of 87.3%. Sixty-one of 71 patients had an unknown uterine scar type prior to birth and, of these, 57 were delivered vaginally. The scar separation rate of this group was found to be 3.5% and the overall scar separation rate in our patients was 3.6%. Other than scar separation and febrile morbidity, no maternal morbidity or mortality was observed. The vast majority (98.4%) of infants delivered vaginally had 5-min Apgar scores of 7 or greater. We suggest that increasing the use of trial labor in patients with prior cesarean section, even in the presence of an unknown scar, may reduce the number of patients laboring in an unmonitored environment who wish to give birth vaginally.

Medical treatment of squamous hyperplasia and lichen sclerosus of the vulva.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of medical treatment in patients with lichen sclerosus (LS), squamous hyperplasia (SH) and lichen sclerosus with associated squamous hyperplasia. METHODS: Forty-eight patients with non-neoplastic epithelial disorders of the vulva, SH in 23 (47.9%), LS in 20 (41.6%) and LS with associated SH in five (10.5%) were diagnosed and treated in our clinic. Patients with LS were treated with 2% testosterone ointment. Topical fluorinated corticosteroids was the treatment of choice in patients with SH. Patients with LS with associated SH were treated with topical fluorinated corticosteroid application followed by testosterone propionate ointment. RESULTS: The clinical response rate of SH to first-line therapy was 95.6% with a correlation of 90.5% with histological reversal; this rate was 80% with a histological correlation of 81.3% in LS. The remission rates of SH and LS patients following a full course of therapy were 100% and 90%, respectively. In LS with associated SH patients, 90% responded to standard therapy with a remission rate of 100% after completion of a full course of therapy. CONCLUSION: Medical therapy of lichen sclerosus and squamous hyperplasia was very effective with a good clinical and histologic correlation.