Fetal hydrothorax and hydrops is a frequent complication of extralobar pulmonary sequestration which is associated with a high perinatal mortality and severe respiratory insufficiency in the newborn. In a 27‐week‐old fetus with this condition, injection of 1 ml of pure alcohol and pleuro‐amniotic shunting achieved resolution of hydrops. The pregnancy progressed to term and a healthy neonate was delivered who did not require postnatal surgery. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

GnRH agonists induce endometrial thinning, so that when administered before intrauterine interventions, mucus cellular debris and bleeding should be reduced during surgery and hysteroscopic visibility increased; the operating time may thus be shorter and fluid absorption decreased. However, more data are needed before considering GnRH agonists a proven effective means of facilitating endometrial resection.

This review examines the factors that affect the decision-making process of parental couples evaluating prenatal screening and diagnostic tests. A systematic search was performed using PubMed and PsycInfo databases. The 46 included studies had to: investigate the decision-making process about prenatal testing; focus on tests detecting trisomy 21, 18, 13, and abnormalities of sex chromosomes; be published in English peer-reviewed journals. The decision-making process seems composed of different levels: an individual level with demographic, clinical, and psychological aspects; a contextual level related to the technical features of the test and the information received; a relational level involving family and society.

Recurrent respiratory infections (RRI) represent a social problem for both the pharmaco-economic impact and the burden on the family. Thermal water is popularly well accepted. However, there is no scientific evidence of its preventive activity on recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRI). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Agnano thermal water nasal irrigation on RRI prevention in children. A total of 107 children (70 males, mean age 4.5±1.2 years) with RRI were enrolled in the study. At baseline, children were randomly assigned to the treatment with: A) inhaled crenotherapy with salso-sulphide water or B) isotonic saline (NaCl 0.9%). Inhaled therapy was performed using nasal washing by Rino-jet (ASEMA srl, Milan, Italy) b.i.d. for 12 days. Nasal washing lasted 2 minutes per nostril. Immediately before washing, children inhaled 1 l of water by stream inhalation per 2 minutes. Crenotherapy was capable of significantly reducing: the number of respiratory infections, nasal symptoms, neutrophil and bacteria count, turbinate and adenoidal hypertrophy, presence of biofilm, and blockage of ostiomeatal complex (OCM). In conclusion, this study provides the first evidence that Agnano crenotherapy may be capable of preventing RRI in children as it exerts some positive effects, such as reduction of nasal obstruction, OCM blockage, biofilm, and inflammatory events.