Maternal serum endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 level and its correlation with severity of early-onset preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE), the primary pathology of which is endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction, has long-lasting effects such as cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it was decided to investigate the maternal serum concentrations of EC-specific molecule-1 in patients with early-onset preeclampsia (E-PE). This study was conducted on 33 pregnant women with E-PE and 35 healthy pregnant women matched for gestational age. EC-specific molecule-1 level was measured using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The mean EC-specific molecule-1 concentrations were not significantly different between the groups (651.7 ± 632.2 pg/mL vs. 425.9 ± 263.0 pg/mL, p=.056). Among women with E-PE, the median EC-specific molecule-1 concentration did not differ significantly by disease severity (p=.115). EC-specific molecule-1 is not involved in the pathogenesis of E-PE. However, some studies in the literature report that EC-specific molecule-1 concentrations increased during the diagnosis of PE. Therefore, well-designed studies with a large sample are needed in cases of E-PE.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? There is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in early-onset preeclampsia (E-PE) which is linked with endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial cell (EC)-specific molecule-1 stands out as an important marker in EC dysfunction related conditions such as preeclampsia. What the results of this study add? This study showed that EC-specific molecule-1 is not associated with the CVDs risk linked with endothelial dysfunction in E-PE. Additionally, there was also no significant relationship was detected between the severity of E-PE and EC-specific molecule-1 concentrations. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 is not involved in the pathogenesis of E-PE. Moreover, advantageous and easy-to-measure markers are needed in larger sample studies to better understand the aetiology of E-PE. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Evaluation of Maternal and Fetal Outcomes in the Adolescents Pregnancy

Objective: In this study, our aim is to compare discussing maternal and fetal problems non-adolescent pregnancy with maternal and fetal problems in adolescent pregnancy that seen in hospital. Methods: 15-19 years of age (50 patients) and 20-23 years (96 patients) who gave birth at the Gynaecologi­cal and Obstetric Clinic under the Faculty of Medicine of Dicle University between January 2015-October 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. Age at birth, parity, blood pressure, pulse, gestational age, complications at birth, cesarean section indications, maternal biochemical pa­rameters, patients with preeclampsia and preterm birth, maternal and fetal complications were recorded. Results: Total number of births between January 2015- October 2015 were 1715 patients in our clinic. 62 of them (3.6%) were observed in the adolescent group. Maternal blood transfusion needs were found to be significantly higher in the adolescent group (p=0.004). Fetal abnor­malities and fetal intensive care needs were found to be significantly higher in the adolescent group (p=0.014, p=0.018). Conclusion: Adolescent pregnancies were high-risk pregnancies in terms of maternal anemia and blood transfusion requirements and because of adverse perina­tal outcomes. Therefore, to reduce the adolescent preg­nancy and to minimize perinatal complications should be done more extensive studies

Evaluation of Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes in Severe Preeclampsia with and Without HELLP Syndrome

WOS: 000464326000008Objective: Our objective is to evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes in severe preeclampsia cases with HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, raised liver function tests, low platelet count) and severe preeclampsia cases without HELLP syndrome. Methods: Pregnant women with severe preeclampsia who had been diagnosed and delivered at our hospital between January 1015 and July 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups as those with HELLP syndrome (Group 1) and as those without HELLP syndrome (Group 2) according to the aformentioned HELLP syndrome parameters. Both groups were assessed in terms of some perinatal complications such as preterm delivery, IUGR, abruptio placenta and fetal and some biochemical and hematologic parameters. Results: Between January 2015 and July 2018, a total of 8730 deliveries were made in our hospital. 154 (1.7%) women had got a diagnosis of severe preeclampsia without HELLP syndrome (Group 1). 38 (0.4%) had severe preeclampsia with HELLP (Group 2). In Group 1, 22 cases had IUGR (14.2%), 8 had abruptio placenta (5.2%), 50 had preterm delivery (32.4%). In Group 2, 7 cases had IUGR (18.4%), 3 had abruptio placenta (7.8%) and 10 (26.3%) had preterm delivery. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of all three parameters. Although there were no significant differences, fetal mortality (1.2% vs 5.2%) and cesarean rates (77.2% vs 86.8%) were higher in Group 2. We detected significance in terms of acute renal failure and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy rates, need for invasive care and blood product transfusion between groups. All were higher in latter. Conclusion: Severe preeclampsia, particularly ones with HELLP, are related to high perinatal complications and increased maternal mortality and morbidity, it is necessary to terminate such pregnancies and to provide appropriate supportive therapy in time

Patients with hematologic cancers are more vulnerable to COVID-19 compared to patients with solid cancers

Previous studies reported that COVID-19 patients with cancer had higher rates of severe events such as intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation (MV) assistance, and death during the COVID-19 course compared to the general population. However, no randomized study compared the clinical course of COVID-19 in patients with hematologic cancers to patients with solid cancers. Thus, in this study, we intend to reveal the outcome of COVID-19 in hematologic cancer patients and compare their outcomes with COVID-19 patients with solid cancers. The data of 926 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients, including 463 hematologic cancer patients and an age-gender paired cohort of 463 solid cancer patients, were investigated retrospectively. The frequencies of severe and critical disease, hospital and ICU admission, MV assistance were significantly higher in hematologic cancer patients compared with the solid cancer patients (p = 0.001, p = 0.045, p = 0.001, and p = 0.001, respectively). The hospital stay was longer in patients with hematologic cancers (p = 0.001); however, the median ICU stay was 6 days in both groups. The case fatality rate (CFR) was 14.9% in patients with hematologic cancers, and it was 4.8% in patients with solid cancers, and there was a statistically significant difference regarding CFR between groups (p = 0.001). Our study revealed that COVID-19 patients with hematologic cancers have a more aggressive course of COVID-19 and have higher CFR compared to COVID-19 patients with solid cancers and support the increased susceptibility of patients with hematologic cancers during the outbreak