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The independent contributions to the prediction of PHN made by older age, female sex, presence of a prodrome, greater rash severity, and greater acute pain severity suggest that these risk factors reflect different mechanisms that each contribute to the development of PHN. Subacute herpetic neuralgia that does not progress to PHN may reflect peripheral tissue damage and inflammation caused by a particularly severe or widespread rash.

Objectives To improve the prenatal diagnosis of achondroplasia by constructing charts of fetal size, defining frequency of sonographic features and exploring the role of non-invasive molecular diagnosis based on cell-free fetal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in maternal plasma. Methods

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ObjectiveTo improve the prenatal diagnosis of thanatophoric dysplasia by defining the change in fetal size across gestation and the frequency of sonographic features, and developing non-invasive molecular genetic diagnosis based on cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma.MethodsFetuses with a confirmed diagnosis of thanatophoric dysplasia were ascertained, records reviewed, sonographic features and measurements determined. Charts of fetal size were then constructed using the LMS (lambda-mu-sigma) method and compared with charts used in normal pregnancies and those complicated by achondroplasia. Cases in this cohort referred to our Regional Genetics Laboratory for molecular diagnosis using cffDNA were identified and results reviewed.ResultsForty-two cases were scanned in our units. Commonly reported sonographic features were very short and sometimes bowed femora, frontal bossing, cloverleaf skull, short fingers, a small chest and polyhydramnios. Limb shortening was obvious from as early as 13 weeks' gestation, with minimal growth after 20 weeks. Analysis of cffDNA in three of these pregnancies confirmed the presence of the c.742C>CT (p.Arg248Cys) or the c.1948A>AG (p.Lys650Glu) mutation in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene.ConclusionThese data should improve the accuracy of the sonographic diagnosis of thanatophoric dysplasia and have implications for reliable and safe targeted molecular confirmation using cffDNA. © 2013 The Authors. Prenatal Diagnosis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The results of a considerable number of recent prospective studies have demonstrated that greater acute pain severity in herpes zoster patients is associated with a significantly greater risk of developing postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Only a few studies have examined the relationships between acute pain severity and demographic characteristics and clinical features of patients with herpes zoster, however, and the results of these studies have been inconsistent. To clarify these relationships, data from 1778 herpes zoster patients studied within 72 h of rash onset in four clinical trials of the antiviral agent famciclovir were examined. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that greater acute pain severity was significantly associated with greater age, female sex, greater rash severity, the presence of a prodrome, and primary involvement of non-trigeminal dermatomes. These results demonstrate that three of the established risk factors for PHN - older age, greater rash severity, and the presence of a prodrome - are also associated with more severe acute pain assessed soon after rash onset in patients with herpes zoster. The results of this study are consistent with the recommendation that herpes zoster patients who are older, who have had a prodrome, or who have severe rash or severe acute pain should be targeted for interventions designed to prevent PHN.