Time interval analysis of ductus venosus and cardiac cycles in relation with umbilical artery pH at birth in fetal growth restriction.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to evaluate the time intervals of flow velocity waveforms (FVW) of ductus venosus (DV) and cardiac cycles, as well as the pulsatility index of DV-FVW (DV-PI), in correlation with umbilical artery (UA) pH at birth in fetal growth restriction (FGR) complicated with placental insufficiency. METHODS: Data were retrospectively retrieved from pregnancies complicated by FGR. FGR was defined as an estimated fetal weight below - 2.0 S.D. with an elevated UA-PI. Time interval assessments of DV-FVW were as follows: the duration of systolic wave was divided by the duration of diastolic wave and defined as DV-S/D. We also measured the following time intervals of ventricular inflow through tricuspid valve (TV) and mitral valve (MV): (iii), from the second peak of ventricular inflow caused by atrial contraction (A-wave) to the opening of atrio-ventricular valves and: (iv), from the opening of atrio-ventricular valves to the peak of A-wave. (iii)/(iv) was expressed as TV-S/D and MV-S/D, for TV and MV, respectively. The time interval data were transformed into z-scores. RESULTS: Thirty-one FGR fetuses were included in this study. Both DV-PI and DV-S/D showed significant correlation with UA-pH (r = - 0.677, p = < 0.001 and r = 0.489, p = 0.005 for DV-PI and z-score of DV-S/D, respectively) and more significances were observed in FGR ≤ 28 + 6 gestational weeks (r = - 0.819, p < 0.001 and r = 0.726, p = 0.005, for DV-PI and z-score of DV-S/D, respectively) than in FGR > 28 + 6 gestational weeks (r = - 0.634, p = 0.007 and r = 0.635, p = 0.020, for DV-PI and z-score of DV-S/D, respectively). On the other hand, TV-S/D and MV-S/D showed no significant correlation with UA-pH, although these z-scores indicated significant decreases compared with normal references. CONCLUSIONS: Time interval analysis of DV-FVW might be a valuable parameter, as well as DV-PI, for the antenatal prediction of fetal acidemia in the management of FGR fetuses.

Salvage Human Leukocyte Antigen-Haploidentical Hematopoietic Cell Transplant With Posttransplant Cyclophosphamide for Graft Failure in a Patient With Chronic Active Epstein-Barr Virus Infection.

Salvage human leukocyte antigen-haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplant using posttransplant cyclophosphamide has shown promising results for graft failure in various hematological disorders. However, to our knowledge, no such findings have been reported for a case of chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection, although graft failure is relatively common in patients with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection. We report a case of a 32-year-old woman with natural killer-cell type chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection who experienced graft failure after a first allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant from an unrelated human leukocyte antigen-matched donor.The patientreceived a second allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant with human leukocyte antigen-haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplant using posttransplant cyclophosphamide (cyclophosphamide, 50 mg/kg, on day 3 and day 4) following reduced-intensity conditioning as rescue therapy. Neutrophils successfully engrafted on day 19, and the patient sustained remission without severe transplant-related complication 10 months after salvage human leukocyte antigen- haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplant using posttransplant cyclophosphamide. This report suggests that salvage human leukocyte antigen- haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplant using posttransplant cyclophosphamide may be a feasible therapeutic option for graft failure in patients with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Altered Transmission of Cardiac Cycles to Ductus Venosus Blood Flow in Fetal Growth Restriction: Why Ductus Venosus Reflects Fetal Circulatory Changes More Precisely.

We aimed to investigate the relation between the time intervals of the flow velocity waveform of ductus venosus (DV-FVW) and cardiac cycles. We defined Delta A as the difference in the time measurements between DV-FVW and cardiac cycles on the assumption that the second peak of ductus venosus (D-wave) starts simultaneously with the opening of the mitral valve (MV). As well, we defined Delta B as the difference of the time measurements between DV-FVW and cardiac cycles on the assumption that the D-wave starts simultaneously with the closure of the aortic valve (AV). We then compared Delta A and Delta B in the control and fetal growth restriction (FGR) groups. In the control group of healthy fetuses, Delta A was strikingly shorter than Delta B. On the other hand, in all FGR cases, no difference was observed. The acceleration of the D-wave is suggested to be generated by the opening of the MV under normal fetal hemodynamics, whereas it precedes the opening of the MV in FGR. Our results indicate that the time interval of DV analysis might be a more informative parameter than the analysis of cardiac cycles.