Uterine Dehiscence in Early Second Trimester

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of uterine dehiscence in the early second trimester by ultrasonography is rare and its effect on pregnancy outcome is unclear. CASE: An asymptomatic woman presented for anatomy survey in the 19th week of pregnancy. Uterine dehiscence at the site of previous hysterotomy was diagnosed by ultrasound scan. She was admitted to the hospital for expectant management and eventually opted for termination of pregnancy in the 22nd week of pregnancy. Termination was performed by classical hysterotomy without any complications. CONCLUSION: Given the increasing cesarean delivery rate and improvements in ultrasound technology, obstetricians should expect to face the management dilemma of antenatally diagnosed uterine dehiscence. The risks of expectant management compared with termination remain theoretical, and timing of delivery and methods of termination are important questions to consider. (Obstet Gynecol 2011;118:497-500) DOI:10.1097/AOG.0b013e3182257b5

Impact of fetal trisomy 21 on umbilical artery Doppler indices

Objectives - Umbilical artery (UA) Doppler indices are surrogate measures of placental function, most commonly used to assess fetal wellbeing in pregnancies with fetal growth restriction. Fetuses with trisomy 21 (t21) are reported to have elevated UA Doppler indices, but reference percentiles are currently lacking for this population. We hypothesized that gestational age-specific values of UA Doppler indices in pregnancies complicated by t21 will be elevated compared to established percentiles based on euploid pregnancies. We aimed to assess UA Doppler indices longitudinally in fetuses with t21 in order to demonstrate Doppler patterns across gestation in this population, compare them with euploid fetuses, and investigate their association with pregnancy outcomes. Methods - We conducted a retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies with confirmed fetal t21 who underwent UA Doppler surveillance antenatally from January 2012 to August 2019. UA Doppler indices, including systolic/diastolic (S/D) ratio, pulsatility index (PI), and resistance index (RI) were extracted from ultrasound reports or directly from ultrasound images. UA S/D, PI, and RI percentiles by gestational week were created from available observations from our cohort via a data-driven approach using a generalized additive model. A secondary analysis was run to statistically compare t21 values to established percentiles based on observations from a historical population of euploid fetuses. Results - UA Doppler measurements from 86 t21 fetuses and 130 euploid fetuses were included in our analysis. Median (IQR) maternal age in t21 pregnancies and euploid pregnancies were 35 years (29–38) and 30 years (27–33), respectively. As in euploid fetuses, we found a negative association between Doppler indices and gestational age in the t21 fetuses. Maternal tobacco use, obesity, or chronic hypertension had no significant effect on UA Doppler indices. As hypothesized, values for UA S/D ratio, PI, and RI at the 2.5th, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 95th, and 97.5th percentiles by gestational week were significantly higher in t21 fetuses compared to euploid fetuses (p Conclusions - At each week of gestation, UA Doppler indices in t21 fetuses were significantly higher than established percentiles from a euploid population. Reference intervals based on euploid fetuses may therefore not be appropriate for antenatal surveillance of fetuses with t21. Prospective studies are needed to investigate the role and impact of serial UA Doppler velocimetry in the surveillance of pregnancies complicated by fetal t21

Impact of fetal trisomy 21 on umbilical artery Doppler indices

Umbilical artery (UA) Doppler indices are surrogate measures of placental function, most commonly used to assess fetal wellbeing in pregnancies with fetal growth restriction. Fetuses with trisomy 21 (t21) are reported to have elevated UA Doppler indices, but reference percentiles are currently lacking for this population. We hypothesized that gestational age-specific values of UA Doppler indices in pregnancies complicated by t21 will be elevated compared to established percentiles based on euploid pregnancies. We aimed to assess UA Doppler indices longitudinally in fetuses with t21 in order to demonstrate Doppler patterns across gestation in this population, compare them with euploid fetuses, and investigate their association with pregnancy outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of singleton pregnancies with confirmed fetal t21 who underwent UA Doppler surveillance antenatally from January 2012 to August 2019. UA Doppler indices, including systolic/diastolic (S/D) ratio, pulsatility index (PI), and resistance index (RI) were extracted from ultrasound reports or directly from ultrasound images. UA S/D, PI, and RI percentiles by gestational week were created from available observations from our cohort via a data-driven approach using a generalized additive model. A secondary analysis was run to statistically compare t21 values to established percentiles based on observations from a historical population of euploid fetuses. UA Doppler measurements from 86 t21 fetuses and 130 euploid fetuses were included in our analysis. Median (IQR) maternal age in t21 pregnancies and euploid pregnancies were 35 years (29–38) and 30 years (27–33), respectively. As in euploid fetuses, we found a negative association between Doppler indices and gestational age in the t21 fetuses. Maternal tobacco use, obesity, or chronic hypertension had no significant effect on UA Doppler indices. As hypothesized, values for UA S/D ratio, PI, and RI at the 2.5th, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 95th, and 97.5th percentiles by gestational week were significantly higher in t21 fetuses compared to euploid fetuses (pp  At each week of gestation, UA Doppler indices in t21 fetuses were significantly higher than established percentiles from a euploid population. Reference intervals based on euploid fetuses may therefore not be appropriate for antenatal surveillance of fetuses with t21. Prospective studies are needed to investigate the role and impact of serial UA Doppler velocimetry in the surveillance of pregnancies complicated by fetal t21.</p

Delivery outcomes in the subsequent pregnancy following the conservative management of placenta accreta spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective:Cesarean hysterectomy is generally presumed to decrease maternal morbidity and mortality secondary to placenta accreta spectrum disorder (PAS). Recently, uterine-sparing techniques have been introduced in conservative management of PAS to preserve fertility and potentially reduce surgical complications. However, despite often expressing the intention for future conception, few data are available regarding the subsequent pregnancy outcome after conservative management of PAS. Thus, we aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the subsequent pregnancy outcomes following conservative management of PAS. Data sources:PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched from inception to September 2022. Study eligibility criteria:We included all studies, with the exception of case studies, that reported the first subsequent pregnancy outcomes in individuals with a previous history of PAS who underwent any type of conservative management. Study appraisal and synthesis method:The R programming language with the meta package was used. The random effects model and inverse variance method were used to pool the proportion of pregnancy outcomes. Results:We identified five studies involving 1,458 subjects that were eligible for quantitative synthesis. The type of conservative management included placenta left in situ (n=1), resection surgery (n=1), and not reported in three studies. The PAS recurrence rate in the subsequent pregnancy was 11.8% (95% CI: 1.1-60.3, I2 = 86.4%), and 1.9% (95% CI: 0.0-34.1, I2 = 82.4%) underwent Cesarean hysterectomy. Postpartum hemorrhage occurred in 10.3% (95% CI: 0.3-81.4, I2 = 96.7%). A composite adverse maternal outcome was reported in 22.7% of subjects (95% CI: 0.0-99.4, I2 = 56.3%). Conclusion:Favorable pregnancy outcome is possible following successful conservation of the uterus in a PAS pregnancy. Approximately one out of four subsequent pregnancies following conservative management of PAS experienced significant adverse maternal outcomes. Given such high incidence of adverse outcomes and morbidity, patient and provider preparation is vital when managing this population