Thyroid diseases are very common in women of reproductive age. The aim of this study was to review the current evidence on physiology, pathophsiology, diagnosis and management of women with thyroid disorders that are currently seeking fertility, undergoing assisted reproduction technologies (ART) or being pregnant. Normal thyroid function is essential ...

To evaluate clinical value of a new self-sequential longitudinal reference intervals of thyroid function during pregnancy. WE ESTABLISHED TWO DIFFERENT SERIES OF REFERENCE INTERVALS: self-sequential longitudinal reference intervals (SLRI) and general gestation-specific reference intervals (GSRI). For SLRI, the serum of 301 cases were collected five times in every case throughout ...

The presentation of acute appendicitis during pregnancy may cause diagnostic and therapeutic difficulty. Delay in diagnosis may lead to increased maternal and fetal risk. Therefore, an aggressive surgical approach is mandatory, even though this may result in an increased number of appendectomies for normal appendices. Diagnostic laparoscopy, followed by laparoscopic ...

Aim:  This study was an analysis of women diagnosed with acute appendicitis in pregnancy, to appraise the maternal and fetal outcomes and explore the correlations with negative appendectomy. Material and Methods:  A retrospective study was undertaken at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. The service delivery records of all ...

Isolated fallopian tube torsion (IFTT) is a rare clinical entity, especially in pregnancy. It is frequently misdiagnosed as acute appendicitis or ovarian torsion. We present an unusual case of IFTT occurring in early pregnancy, which was detected when patient presented for medical termination of pregnancy in family planning clinic. This ...

Adnexal torsion is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain during pregnancy. The clinical and laboratory findings are non-specific. In this paper we present a case of adnexal torsion in the first trimester of pregnancy. On admission, the patient presented signs of acute abdomen.The pain started few hours prior to ...

Among 23 women who underwent diagnostic hysteroscopy after triple uterine artery ligation with or without hemostatic multiple square suturing for the management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), five had abnormal findings. Endometritis was statistically significantly associated with abnormal diagnostic hysteroscopy findings. Twelve patients developed subsequent pregnancies, and four had abnormal obstetric ...

The management of acute appendicitis during pregnancy is not fully established, especially regarding the choice between open and laparoscopic surgery during the third trimester. We report herein the case of a major uterine variecele hemorrhage during a laparoscopic appendectomy in a 27-year old pregnant patient at 33 weeks of amenorrhea. ...

Rectus sheath hematoma can present as an acute abdominal condition. A case presented as an obstetrical emergency, which was initially suspected as pregnancy-associated degenerating uterine fibroid and emergency laparotomy was performed under the belief of sudden abruption placenta or ruptured uterus. This patient was found to be misdiagnosed upon both ...

Clara cell protein (CC16) is an immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory broncho-alveolar-derived molecule and a biomarker of pulmonary epithelial cells maturity and alveolo-capillary membrane injury. Intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) neonates may present with structural lung immaturity, impaired immunocompetence and increased risk for respiratory infections and chronic obstructive lung disease in later life. To investigate circulating ...

Gynecological emergencies may be encountered in postmenopausal ladies like that of ruptured ectopic pregnancy in the reproductive age group. We report a case of ruptured granulosa cell tumor in a 70-year-old woman who presented with acute abdomen and hemoperitoneum.

Women with cystic fibrosis (CF) are living to childbearing age and many have successful pregnancies. Preconception care with optimization of pulmonary function, eradication of pulmonary infection, improved nutritional status, and diabetes care improve fertility and pregnancy outcome. Women with CF, poor pulmonary function and nutrition, and less than ideal body ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect of antenatal glucocorticoid administration on fetal lung maturity in pregnancies with known fetal lung immaturity between the 34th and 37th weeks of gestation. STUDY DESIGN: Pregnancies between 34(0/7) and 36(6/7) weeks undergoing amniocentesis to determine fetal lung maturity were targeted. Women with negative results (TDx-FLM-II ...

The aim of this study was to investigate possible alterations in circulating concentrations of surfactant protein D (SP-D)-an important component of the innate immune system that is upregulated in pulmonary diseases-in appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) pregnancies, because the latter are characterized by structural lung immaturity, ...

Lung hypoplasia (LH) is a life-threatening congenital abnormality with various causes. It involves vascular bed underdevelopment with abnormal arterial muscularization leading to pulmonary hypertension. Because underlying molecular changes are imperfectly known and sometimes controversial, we determined key factors of angiogenesis along intrauterine development, focusing at the angiopoietin (ANG)/Tie-2 system. Lung ...

Maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the incidence and severity of respiratory infections in neonates. Surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D, respectively) are components of pulmonary innate immunity and have an important role in defense against inhaled pathogens. The purpose of this study was to determine if nicotine exposure ...

Lung cancer in pregnancy is a rare situation; however, it is increasingly reported in the past two decades. The association might be more encountered in the coming years due to the rising trends of cigarette smoking among young women and tendency to delay pregnancy to later in life. We performed ...

We hypothesized that fetal lipopolysaccharide exposures to the chorioamnion, lung, or gut would induce distinct systemic inflammatory responses. Groups of 5-7 time-mated ewes were used to surgically isolate the fetal respiratory and the gastrointestinal systems from the amniotic compartment. Outcomes were assessed at 124 days gestational age, 2 days and ...

Mrs. AB, a 40-year-old woman, in her second pregnancy had a spontaneous hematoma of liver of unknown etiology that was managed successfully conservatively under the umbrella of the multidisciplinary care. The subcapsular hematoma was diagnosed at 31 weeks gestational age while she was being investigated because of sudden and gross ...

Epidemiologic studies implicate air pollutant exposure during pregnancy as a risk factor for wheezing in offspring. Ozone exposure is linked to exacerbations of wheezing in children. To determine if maternal pulmonary exposure to traffic-related particles during pregnancy augments ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in offspring. C57BL6 time-mated mice were given NIST SRM#1648 ...

Development of the foetal respiratory system includes both pulmonary growth and maturation. In human medicine, a higher incidence of respiratory distress is reported in newborn males. This study aimed to identify different phases of canine foetal lung maturation throughout pregnancy, to determine the stage of pregnancy in which surfactant production ...

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is characterized by a defect in the diaphragm that permits abdominal viscera to herniate into the chest. These herniated viscera are thought to compress the growing lung and cause lung parenchymal and vascular hypoplasia. The genetic defects that cause the diaphragmatic defect may also contribute primarily ...

Vagally mediated afferent feedback and compliant lungs (surfactant system) play vital roles in the establishment of adequate alveolar ventilation and pulmonary gas exchange at birth. Although the significance of vagal innervation in the establishment of normal breathing patterns is well recognized, the precise role of lung innervation in the maturation ...

BACKGROUND: Preterm premature rupture of membranes before 22 weeks of gestation may result in severe fetal pulmonary hypoplasia. Fetoscopic tracheal balloon occlusion might result in catch-up pulmonary growth. CASE: After preterm premature rupture of membranes at 16 weeks of gestation, magnetic resonance imaging at 26 0/7 weeks showed a fetal ...

To evaluate the risk of elective delivery of hospitalized patients with isolated mild preeclampsia with mature fetal lung profile compared with a cohort of patients who had preeclampsia with indicated delivery matched for gestational age. Patients with mild preeclampsia requiring hospitalization between 34 and 37 weeks estimated gestational age were ...

PURPOSE: To compare two-dimensional ultrasonography (2D US) and three-dimensional ultrasonography (3D US) in the assessment of normal fetal lung volume. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed involving 50 normal pregnancies at 24-32 weeks' gestation. The following equations were used for lung volume calculation by 2D US: Eq(2D1) = 4.24 + ...

AIM: To determine reference ranges for fetal lung volume by 3-dimensional ultrasonography using the VOCAL (Virtual Organ Computed-aided Analysis) method. METHODS: A longitudinal prospective study was conducted with 61 uncomplicated pregnancies between 24 and 32 weeks of gestation. A separate measurement of both lungs volume was conducted by VOCAL with ...

BACKGROUND: Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare vascular neoplasm that affects various tissues including liver, lung, gastrointestinal tract, head and neck, bone, heart and the central nervous system. CASE REPORT: A case of EHE is presented with lung and liver involvement during pregnancy. The patient had an uncomplicated antenatal course ...

The authors assess causal, cellular and inflammatory links between intraamniotic infection with Ureaplasma parvum or Mycoplasma hominis and preterm labor in a nonhuman primate model. Long-term catheterized rhesus monkeys received intraamniotic inoculations of clinical isolates of Ureaplasma parvum serovar 1, M hominis, media control or physiological saline. Genital mycoplasmas were ...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the value of the observed to expected fetal lung area to head circumference ratio (o/e LHR) and liver position in the prediction of neonatal morbidity in survivors with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). METHODS: Neonatal morbidity was recorded in 100 consecutive cases with isolated CDH diagnosed in fetal ...

The objective of the study was to determine the amniotic fluid volume (AFV) response to fetal esophageal ligation with and without fetal lung liquid entering the amniotic sac. AFV was measured in 3 groups of late-gestation ovine fetuses: time controls, tracheoesophageal shunted, and esophageal ligated. One day after surgery, AFV ...

BACKGROUND: Antenatal pulmonary inflammation is associated with reduced risk for respiratory distress syndrome but with an increased risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) with impaired alveogenesis. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that fetal systemic inflammation induced by intravenous (IV) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) would affect lung development in utero. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-one fetal sheep were ...

Growing evidence indicates that nitrite, NO2-, serves as a circulating reservoir of nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity that is activated during physiological and pathological hypoxia. One of the intravascular mechanisms for nitrite conversion to NO is a chemical nitrite reductase activity of deoxyhemoglobin. The rate of NO production from this reaction ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with hemoglobin Köln usually present with a mild hemolytic anemia characterized by reticulocytosis, splenomegaly, and elevated circulating bilirubin and lactate dehydrogenase levels. There have been no previous reports of whether these characteristics change during pregnancy and whether pregnancy provides any specific concerns for patients with hemoglobin Köln. CASE: ...

OBJECTIVES: To compare the predictive value of the prenatal observed to expected (o/e) lung volume as measured by fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), based on an algorithm using either the gestational age or fetal body volume (FBV), for neonatal survival of fetuses with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). METHODS: We ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess if a correlation is present between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and normal lung maturation during gestation to define potential reference values as indicators of the lung development. METHODS: Our study included 50 pregnant women (gestational age, GA: 18-36 weeks), with normal fetal development of lungs assessed ...

We report a case of a congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung (CCAM). At 12 weeks of gestation, an echogenic lung associated to a hydrothorax was detected. Despite the results of the combined test that informed of a high risk of chromosomopathy, normal karyotype was confirmed after an amniocentesis. ...

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is accompanied by pulmonary hypoplasia and pulmonary hypertension. Fetal lung growth is dependent on the secretion of lung liquid, which normally is absorbed at partus. The ion channel NKCC-1 is involved in this secretory process, but has recently also been reported to be implicated in absorption. ...

The pathogenesis of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) is unknown and its natural history is unpredictable. Fatty acid binding protein-7 (FABP-7) has been previously described in brain and breast development, but never before in the lung. We investigate gene expression in CCAM, and hypothesize that CCAM results from an aberration ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate the potential of the sonographic fetal lung volume-body weight ratio to predict neonatal deaths and pulmonary hypoplasia in fetuses with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Between January 2002 and December 2004, 40 fetuses with isolated CDH and 450 ...

This work describes the development of polymersome-encapsulated hemoglobin (PEH) self-assembled from biodegradable and biocompatible amphiphilic diblock copolymers composed of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(caprolactone) (PCL), and poly(lactide) (PLA). In the amphiphilic diblock, PEO functions as the hydrophilic block, while either PCL or PLA can function as the hydrophobic block. PEO, PCL, ...

AIM: To evaluate the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in predicting the risk of lethal pulmonary hypoplasia in fetuses. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 15 fetuses (29-40 weeks' gestation), including fetuses with major malformation diagnosed on prenatal ultrasonography. MRI using a 1.5 T magnet and half-Fourier acquisition single-shot fast ...

Major cause of prematurity is spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) associated with intrauterine inflammation. Our aim was to establish a model of endotoxin Lipopolysaccharide-induced PTB of live-born pups and to study early immune activation in fetal and maternal compartments. Expression of several proteins that bind microbes (Toll-like receptors TLR4, TLR2; surfactant ...

OBJECTIVES: Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) is a rare lesion of the developing fetal lung consisting of increased cell proliferation in the bronchial structures with lack of differentiation of the alveoli. Pregnancies may be at an increased risk for perinatal loss with type III CCAM. The purpose of this paper ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare 3-dimensional (3D) lung volume measurements with 2-dimensional (2D) biometric parameters in predicting pulmonary hypoplasia in complicated pregnancies. STUDY DESIGN: In this prospective study, 1-4 scans of the fetal lungs were obtained in 33 pregnancies complicated by various disorders or complications with ...

Silastic E RTV silicone was used to produce tracheobronchial cast for use in an undergraduate human anatomy course. Following air-drying, the trachea and lungs were injected with E RTV silicone and allowed to cure for 24 hr. The parenchyma was then removed from the tracheobronchial cast by maceration and boiling ...

The objective of the study was to determine the effects in late gestation of Ureaplasma parvum serovar 3 colonization and the effects, preterm, of U. parvum serovar 6. Ewes received an intraamniotic (i.a.) injection of U. parvum serovar 6 (20 x 10(6) colony-forming units [cfu]; n = 9), U. parvum ...

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) can be diagnosed in the prenatal period either as part of other anomalies or as an isolated birth defect. The clinical impact of this surgically correctable anatomical defect lies in its impairment of lung development. Currently, up to 30% of babies with isolated CDH die from ...

BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-7 was reported to be a key molecule in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) based on the result of microarray analysis and knockout mice. However, the role of MMP-7 has not been determined in other types of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP). The aim of this ...

AIM: To clarify the clinical features of pregnancy and neonatal respiratory problems associated with diffuse chorioamniotic hemosiderosis (DCH). METHODS: Sixteen singleton cases of DCH without chorioamnionitis (CAM) were retrospectively analyzed and compared with gestation- and birthweight-matched controls (32 cases of CAM and 32 cases of non-DCH-non-CAM). Maternal symptoms and respiratory ...