Association Between Maternal Vitamin D Status and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Pregnant Women

Aim: To investigate whether maternal serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in the first trimester is associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of a cohort of pregnant women who had undergone routine genetic multiple marker screening and subsequent glucose tolerance testing. Twenty-five women with GDM and 208 controls without GDM were included in this study. Plasma 25(OH)D concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Mean 25(OH)D concentrations at 11-14 weeks of gestation were not significantly different in women who subsequently developed GDM compared with those who did not (mean ± standard deviation: 13.96 9.05 versus 13.43±9.72; p=0.8). The prevalence of first-trimester severe 25(OH)D deficiency (<10 ng/mL) was similar between women with GDM and healthy controls (44% vs. 44.7%, respectively; p=0.9). The mean concentration of 25(OH)D slightly increased over the two gestational age windows both in women with GDM [mean ∆25(OH)D: 0.25±5.8 ng/mL] and controls [mean ∆25(OH)D: 0.84±12.84 ng/mL], but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.8). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy is not significantly associated with elevated risk of GDM

Sonographic depiction of fetal ureters

Aims: Classic literature states that the fetal ureter should not be visible unless dilated. Our main objective was to produce an effective, reproducible method for fetal ureter depiction during an anatomic survey. Our secondary objectives were to record the frequency of visible ureters among normal fetuses and among fetuses with mild pyelectasis and also to determine the diameter of the sonographically demonstrated ureter

Effect of Hysteroscopic Surgery Before Frozen Embryo Transfer on Patients with Previous Implantation Failure

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of hysteroscopy (HS) before single frozen-thawed embryo transfer (sFET) on patients with previous implantation failure. Material and Methods: A total of 1352 infertile women with a previous implantation failure who underwent their first sFET treatment between January 2015 and December 2017 were included in this study. The patients were classified into two main groups in which HS was omitted (Group 1), and who underwent HS (Group 2). Furthermore, Group 2 was classified into two subgroups as patients without any intrauterine pathology (Group 2a), and those with intrauterine pathology (Group 2b). sFET was performed on all patients within 50 days of hysteroscopy. The major outcome measure was the clinical pregnancy rate. Results: The mean number of mature oocytes and fertilization rates were similar between groups. The clinical pregnancy rate was found to be 33.3% (n=70) in Group 1. Comparatively this rate was statistically significantly higher in patients in Group 2. The clinical pregnancy rate was 44.2% (n=378) in Group 2a, and 44.4% (n=127) in Group 2b (p=0.014). There was a significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2a (OR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.15-2.17, p=0.004), and also Group 2b (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.10-2.31, p=0.013). However, no significant difference was observed between Group 2a and Group 2b (p=0.896). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that HS surgery increases the probability of pregnancy rate at least by 1.58 times in patients having previous implantation failure when the hysteroscopic procedure is followed by sFET