Prediction of neonatal respiratory morbidity by quantitative ultrasound lung texture analysis: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Prediction of neonatal respiratory morbidity may be useful to plan delivery in complicated pregnancies. The limited predictive performance of the current diagnostic tests together with the risks of an invasive procedure restricts the use of fetal lung maturity assessment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of quantitative ultrasound texture analysis of the fetal lung (quantusFLM) to predict neonatal respiratory morbidity in preterm and early-term (<39.0 weeks) deliveries. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective multicenter study conducted in 20 centers worldwide. Fetal lung ultrasound images were obtained at 25.0-38.6 weeks of gestation within 48 hours of delivery, stored in Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine format, and analyzed with quantusFLM. Physicians were blinded to the analysis. At delivery, perinatal outcomes and the occurrence of neonatal respiratory morbidity, defined as either respiratory distress syndrome or transient tachypnea of the newborn, were registered. The performance of the ultrasound texture analysis test to predict neonatal respiratory morbidity was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 883 images were collected, but 17.3% were discarded because of poor image quality or exclusion criteria, leaving 730 observations for the final analysis. The prevalence of neonatal respiratory morbidity was 13.8% (101 of 730). The quantusFLM predicted neonatal respiratory morbidity with a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 74.3% (75 of 101), 88.6% (557 of 629), 51.0% (75 of 147), and 95.5% (557 of 583), respectively. Accuracy was 86.5% (632 of 730) and positive and negative likelihood ratios were 6.5 and 0.3, respectively. CONCLUSION: The quantusFLM predicted neonatal respiratory morbidity with an accuracy similar to that previously reported for other tests with the advantage of being a noninvasive technique.

Analysis of perinatal mortality in newborn infants with a birth weight of less than 1000 grams in Hospital San Cecilio in Granada (Spain) over the 1991-2010 period.

INTRODUCTION: Perinatal mortality has significantly decreased over the last decades. Low birth weight and prematurity are amongst the strongest predictors of neonatal death. The main objective is to analyze the evolution of perinatal mortality and its causes in newborn infants with a birth weight of less than 1000 grams over the last 20 years (1991-2010). POPULATION AND METHODS: Observational, descriptive, longitudinal and ecological study. A total of 264 infants weighing less than 1000 g out of a total of 56 024 births during the study period. Different specific perinatal mortality rates by weight were calculated. The Spearman's Rho correlation coefficient was applied to assess the relationship between mortality rates and years of study, and ANOVA and Mann-Whitney test were used to compare five-year periods and ten-year periods, respectively. RESULTS: There were 131 perinatal deaths, 82 stillbirths and 49 early neonatal deaths; 64.1% of them occurred before 27 weeks of gestation. Only the fetal mortality rate was statistically significant, although perinatal mortality showed a downward trend, without reaching significance. The main immediate causes of death were extreme prematurity, intrauterine hypoxia and infection. The underlying causes related to death in this group of newborn infants were infection caused by premature rupture of membranes, maternal hypertension, uncontrollable preterm labor and twin pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: The reduction in mortality rates in this group of newborn infants is undergoing a slowdown.

Analysis of perinatal mortality in newborn infants with a birth weight of less than 1000 grams in Hospital San Cecilio in Granada (Spain) over the 1991-2010 period / Análisis de la mortalidad perinatal en nacidos con peso menor de 1000 gramos en el Hospital San Cecilio de Granada (España) durante el período 1991-2010

Introduction. Perinatal mortality has significantly decreased over the last decades. Low birth weight and prematurity are amongst the strongest predictors of neonatal death. The main objective is to analyze the evolution of perinatal mortality and its causes in newborn infants with a birth weight of less than 1000 grams over the last 20 years (1991-2010). Population and Methods. Observational, descriptive, longitudinal and ecological study. A total of 264 infants weighing less than 1000 g out of a total of 56 024 births during the study period. Different specific perinatal mortality rates by weight were calculated. The Spearman's Rho correlation coefficient was applied to assess the relationship between mortality rates and years of study, and ANOVA and Mann-Whitney test were used to compare five-year periods and ten-year periods, respectively. Results. There were 131 perinatal deaths, 82 stillbirths and 49 early neonatal deaths; 64.1% of them occurred before 27 weeks of gestation. Only the fetal mortality rate was statistically significant, although perinatal mortality showed a downward trend, without reaching significance. The main immediate causes of death were extreme prematurity, intrauterine hypoxia and infection. The underlying causes related to death in this group of newborn infants were infection caused by premature rupture of membranes, maternal hypertension, uncontrollable preterm labor and twin pregnancy. Conclusions. The reduction in mortality rates in this group of newborn infants is undergoing a slowdown.

Introducción. La mortalidad perinatal ha disminuido sustancialmente en las últimas décadas. La prematuridad y el bajo peso al nacer son los factores predictivos más fuertemente asociados a esta mortalidad. El objetivo es analizar la evolución de la mortalidad perinatal en los nacidos con peso menor de 1000 g en los últimos 20 años (1991-2010) y sus causas. Población y métodos. Estudio observacional-descriptivo de tipo ecológico longitudinal, sobre 264 nacidos con peso menor de 1000 g de un total de 56 024 nacidos durante el período estudiado. Se calculan las diferentes tasas de mortalidad perinatal específicas por peso. Se aplica el coeficiente de correlación Rho de Spearman para evaluar la relación entre las tasas de mortalidad y los años de estudio, y las pruebas ANOVA y de Mann- Whitney para comparación de quinquenios y decenios, respectivamente. Resultados. Se han producido 131 muertes perinatales, 82 de ellas muertes fetales y 49 neonatales precoces. El 64,1% sucede antes de la semana de gestación 27. Sólo la tasa de mortalidad fetal presenta una disminución estadísticamente significativa, aunque la mortalidad perinatal presenta una tendencia al descenso, pero sin alcanzar la significación. Las principales causas inmediatas de óbito son la inmadurez extrema, la hipoxia intrauterina y la infección. Las causas fundamentales relacionadas con la muerte de este grupo de nacidos son la infección por rotura prematura de membranas, la hipertensión materna, la amenaza de parto pretérmino incontrolable y la gemelaridad. Conclusiones. La disminución de las tasas de mortalidad en este grupo de nacidos está sufriendo un enlentecimiento.

Eficacia de la tromboprofilaxis obstétrica / Efficacy of obstetrical tromboprophylaxis

Valorar la incidencia de enfermedad tromboembólica durante el embarazo, parto y puerperio en gestantes con riesgo y la efectividad de las tromboprofilaxis. Seguimiento de 2 727 gestantes con parto durante un año. Se realiza análisis descriptivo de nuestra población, de los factores de riesgo y de la duración de la tromboprofilaxis, analizando su relación con la incidencia de eventos tromboembólicos. Hospital Universitario San Cecilio de Granada, España. Nuestras gestantes tienen pocos factores de riesgo: cesárea, anemia posquirúrgica, tabaquismo, hipertensión inducida por el embarazo o previa, diabetes, cardiopatía y trombofilia, siendo la cesárea y la anemia los más frecuentes. La tromboprofilaxis postcesárea con nadroparina cálcica 0,4 diaria durante su hospitalización ha sido efectiva. No hubo ningún tromboembolismo. En nuestra población, con un adecuado control obstétrico y profilaxis con antiagregantes plaquetarios y/o heparinas de bajo peso molecular, se han evitado eventos tromboembólicos relacionados con el embarazo, parto puerperio.