Comparison of high dose and low dose folic acid supplementation on prevalence, onset and severity of preeclampsia.

BACKGROUND Folic acid supplementation had previously mentioned as a protective factor against the onset of preeclampsia (PE). In this study, we aimed to compare the effect of high dose (5 mg daily) and low dose (1 mg daily) of folic acid supplementation on prevalence, onset and severity of PE. MATERIALS AND METHODS Pregnant women who were in the first trimester and referred to prenatal care university hospitals of Isfahan, Iran during October 2013-May 2015 were included in this study, then they were randomly divided into two groups of 5 mg and 1 mg (treated with daily 5 mg and 1 mg of folic acid, respectively), both groups received folic acid from the first trimester of pregnancy to 42 days after termination. Blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and some urine and blood biochemistry parameters were measured. SPSS-22 used for statistical analysis. RESULTS A total of 943 pregnant women participated in the study (450 women in 1 mg group and 450 women in 5 mg group). Incidence rate of PE was 3.8% in 1 mg group and 2.4% in 5 mg group. In a comparison of preeclamptic patients in 1 mg and 5 mg group, no significant differences were seen regarding age, BMI, laboratory data, the severity of the disease, and onset (early or late) (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Although our findings support that administration of high dose folic acid may decrease the prevalence of PE, there is not enough data to support that higher amount of folic acid administration can reduce the severity of presentation's signs or ameliorate the laboratory data and the onset of PE

Investigation of the relationship between idiopathic microscopic hematuria (in the first and second trimesters) and major adverse outcomes of pregnancy

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between idiopathic microscopic hematuria (in the first and second trimesters) and major adverse outcomes of pregnancy. Materials and Methods: Urinalysis was done for 700 pregnant women before 24 weeks of pregnancy. Those who had 3–5 red blood cells per milliliter in urinalysis were considered positive urinalysis. Then, all individuals were examined for blood pressure and other alarm signs of pregnancy complications in each visit. All mothers were followed for the incidence of preeclampsia, preterm delivery, and pregnancy outcome until the end of pregnancy. Results: The results of this study showed that no significant difference in terms of incident of pregnancy complications between the pregnant women with and without hematuria and the only abortions and neonatal deaths differed between the two groups. Conclusion: These results suggest that further studies are needed to determine whether idiopathic microscopic hematuria can be a predictive value for pregnancy complications or not

The effect of intravenous Dexamethasone on post-cesarean section pain and vital signs: A double-blind randomized clinical trial

Objective: Any operation leads to body stress and tissue injury that causes pain and its complications. Glucocorticoids such as Dexamethasone are strong anti-inflammatory agents, which can be used for a short time post-operative pain control in various surgeries. Main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of administration of intravenous (IV) Dexamethasone on reducing the pain after cesarean. Methods: A double-blind prospective randomized clinical trial was performed on 60 patients candidate for elective caesarean section. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups: A (treatment: 8 mg IV Dexamethasone) and B (control: 2 mL normal saline). In both groups, variables such as mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), pain and vomiting severity (based on visual analog scale) were recorded in different time points during first 24 h after operation. Statistical methods using repeated measure analysis of variances and t-test, Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests were used for analyzing data. Findings: The results indicated that within-group comparisons including severity of pain, MAP, RR and HR have significant differences (P < 0.001 for all variables) during the study period. Between group comparisons indicated significant differences in terms of pain severity (P < 0.001), MAP (P = 0.048) and HR (P = 0.078; marginally significant), which in case group were lower than the control group. Conclusion: IV Dexamethasone could efficiently reduce post-operative pain severity and the need for analgesic consumption and improve vital signs after cesarean section

Pheochromocytoma after cesarean section

Pheochromocytoma is a catecholamine-producing tumor. There are a very few reported cases of clinical pheochromocytoma. Here, we report a 27-year-old woman para 1 live 1 with chief complaint of headache, confusion, nausea, and vomiting 2 days after cesarean section. She was anxious and had palpitation. On physical examination, fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, high blood pressure, and right thyroid nodule were found. She was managed as pregnancy-induced hypertension at first. In laboratory data, epinephrine, norepinephrine, metanephrine, normetanephrine, and vanillylmandelic acid were increased in 24 h urine collection. An adrenal mass was detected in abdominal computed tomography. Regarding clinical and paraclinical findings, pheochromocytoma was diagnosed. The patient received medical treatment, but it was not effective; hence, she underwent adrenalectomy

Investigation of the causes of maternal mortality using root cause analysis in Isfahan, Iran in 2013-2014

Background: Many maternal deaths caused are due to preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth. Therefore, the detailed analysis of the root causes provides developing a plan and appropriate interventions to prevent these deaths occurring in the health system. This study aims to determine the causes of maternal mortality using root cause analysis (RCA) method. Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive explorative study. The data were collected from the files in the maternal health center and the interviews conducted with relevant personnel. The causes of maternal mortality and related reasons were determined by experts′ team opinions and through a standard checklist of RCA. Causes consisted of the factors related to health services (human factors and structural factors), maternal family and social status, and maternal disease status. For each of these factors, analysis was performed to determine the root. In the end, interventional suggestions were developed to prevent the recurrence of similar deaths. Results: Causes were classified into human factors, and structural factors in the area of planning and management and social status of mothers. The results showed that human factors were composed of lack of knowledge and skills in the medical team, unfamiliarity with their duties, lack of health care-based on protocols, etc. Structural factors included lack of follow-up after discharge and inadequate supervision of inspectors on academic qualified doctors. Maternal social and family status factor included lack of referral the mothers′ to the health care center. Conclusions: Based on the RCA process, the most fundamental factor in creating these deaths was management errors at the level of universities and the Ministry of Health. These errors included inadequate supervision of medical education, failure to identify and introduce the instructions and guidelines related to the care of pregnant mothers by the health workers and experts, and lack of collective strategies to inform the public about the type and model of self-care in health centers. Based on the obtained results, the solutions proposed for elimination of root causes of maternal death are organizing sequential training courses tailored for the staff taking care of pregnant women, sending guidelines related to maternal health care to all private and public institutions, and informing the community to receive health care services by health centers and mass media