Orofacial Clefts: Prenatal Diagnosis and Postnatal Management

Orofacial clefts are among the most common congenital malformations which have significant consequences in terms of long term morbidity and health care costs. The overall prevalence of orofacial clefts is estimated to be 9.92 per 10000 births. This review outlines some aspects of etiopathogenesis, prenatal diagnosis and management of the condition

The Relationship Between Proteinuria in Severe Preeclampsia and Maternal and Fetal Outcomes

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if the degree of proteinuria is related to adverse pregnancy outcomes in preeclampsia patients. STUDY DESIGN: The records of 129 severe preeclampsia, 11 eclampsia and 21 HELLP patients delivered before the 37th gestational weeks in Baskent University Adana Research Center between December 2005 and December 2011 were reviewed retrospectively. Group I (n=118) had proteinuria of less than 5g /24 h and Group II (n=43) had proteinuria equal to or more than 5 g /24 hour. Data were analyzed with Student’s t test, Chi-square test and correlations were made with Pearson correlation test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. SPSS for Windows (version 17.0; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL) was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The patients in group II were significantly younger (30.6±6.27 vs. 27.9±6.25) (p=0.01) and delivered significantly earlier (33.6±3.9 vs. 32±3.3) (p=0.02). Group I patients had significantly more risk factors (16.9 vs. 2.3%) (p= 0.015). History of hypertension was also more common in group I (11 vs. 0%) (p= 0.023). CONCLUSION: The patients with proteinuria of ≥ 5 g/24 hr were younger, delivered at an earlier gestational age and had risk factors less frequently

Is the presence of corpus callosum predictable in the first trimester?

Corpus callosum agenesis (CCA) is a clinical condition accompanied by various aneuploidy and genetic syndromes. We identified the development of the corpus callosum (CC) in 278 patients before 18 weeks of gestational age by visualising the pericallosal artery (PCA) in the callosal sulcus and changes in the lengths and ratios of the midbrain (MB) and falx (F), which suggested elevation of the third ventricle and thalamus due to CCA in the first trimester. We succeeded in visualising the path of the PCA in 273 patients. As expected, we observed an increase in the lengths of the MB and F throughout the pregnancies. The MB:F ratio was 0.5–0.6, and it was independent of gestational age. In all 278 patients, the MB:F ratio was <0.6 (95th percentile = 0.79). We observed the presence of the CC during anatomical screening at gestational weeks 18–24. Visualisation of the PCA path (98% sensitivity) and calculation of the MB:F ratio <95th percentile (0.79–100% sensitivity) had very high sensitivity that indirectly confirmed the presence of the CC in the first trimester of pregnancy.Impact statement What is already known on this subject: After reading the articles for detecting the absence of corpus callosum (CC) at first trimester with midbrain (MB) and falx (F) measurement by Lachmann et al. () and visualising pericallosal artery (PCA) as an indirect sign of CC agenesis by Pati et al. (), we aimed to have a look for our records visualising PCA in callosal sulcus and measure MB–F, as well as their ratios for an indirect sign of ‘presence’ of CC at first trimester. What the results of this study add: In recent literature, it is not possible to find many articles suggesting the presence of CC between 11 and 13 weeks of gestation. Díaz-Guerrero et al. () and Pati et al. () has researched visualising PCA path. Lachmann et al. () reported an article for MB and F measurements in early suspicion of CC agenesis. Our study will be the first article in visualising PCA path and measuring MB–F lengths as well as their ratios for ‘presence’ of CC with high sensitivity rates (98% and 100%). What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: This study encourages clinicians visualising PCA path and measure MB–F lengths when they will try to visualise repetitive times and see how it is an easy procedure when you get used to it

Meigs’ Syndrome Associated with Giant Granulosa Cell Tumor of the Ovary

Presentation of rare occurrence of Meigs’ syndrome associated with giant granulosa- cell tumor of the ov ary. Giant granulosa-cell tumor of the ov ary, in a patient presenting with ascites, and bilateral pleural effusion, which rapidly dried up on excision. Meigs’ syndrome should alway s be kept in mind, not to mistakenly up-stage a patient, presenting with ascites and pleural fluid along with an ovarian mas