Anemia is the most frequent derailment of physiology in the world throughout the life of a woman. It is a serious condition in countries that are industrialized and in countries with poor resources. The main purpose of this manuscript is to give the right concern of anemia in pregnancy. The most common causes of anemia are poor nutrition, iron deficiencies, micronutrients deficiencies including folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin B12, diseases like malaria, hookworm infestation and schistosomiasis, HIV infection and genetically inherited hemoglobinopathies such as thalassemia. Depending on the severity and duration of anemia and the stage of gestation, there could be different adverse effects including low birth weight and preterm delivery. Treatment of mild anemia prevents more severe forms of anemia, strictly associated with increased risk of fetal-maternal mortality and morbidity.
Objective
To evaluate prospectively the performance of Fetal Intelligent Navigation Echocardiography (FINE) applied to spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) volume datasets of the normal fetal heart.
Methods
In all women between 19 and 30 weeks of gestation with a normal fetal heart, an attempt was made to acquire STIC volume datasets of the apical four-chamber view if the following criteria were met: 1) fetal spine located between the 5- and 7-o’clock positions; 2) minimal or absent shadowing (including a clearly visible transverse aortic arch); 3) absence of fetal breathing, hiccups, or movement; and 4) adequate image quality. Each STIC volume successfully acquired was evaluated by STICLoop™ to determine its appropriateness before applying the FINE method. Visualization rates of fetal echocardiography views using diagnostic planes and/or Virtual Intelligent Sonographer Assistance (VIS-Assistance®) were calculated.
Results
One or more STIC volumes (365 in total) were successfully obtained in 72.5% (150/207) of women undergoing ultrasound examination. Of the 365 volumes evaluated by STICLoop, 351 (96.2%) were considered to be appropriate. From the 351 STIC volumes, only one STIC volume per patient (n=150) was analyzed using the FINE method; consequently, nine fetal echocardiography views were generated in 76–100% of cases using diagnostic planes only; in 98–100% of cases using VIS-Assistance only; and in 98–100% of cases when using a combination of diagnostic planes and/or VIS-Assistance.
Conclusions
In women between 19 and 30 weeks of gestation with a normal fetal heart undergoing prospective sonographic examination, STIC volumes can be successfully obtained in 72.5% of cases. The FINE method can be applied to generate nine standard fetal echocardiography views in 98–100% of these cases using a combination of diagnostic planes and or VIS-Assistance. This suggests that FINE could be implemented in fetal cardiac screening programs.
Progesterone is an essential hormone in the process of reproduction. It is involved in the menstrual cycle, implantation and is essential for pregnancy maintenance. It has been proposed and extensively used in the treatment of different gynecological pathologies as well as in assisted reproductive technologies and in the maintenance of pregnancy. Called "the pregnancy hormone", natural progesterone is essential before pregnancy and has a crucial role in its maintenance based on different mechanisms such as: modulation of maternal immune response and suppression of inflammatory response (the presence of progesterone and its interaction with progesterone receptors at the decidua level appears to play a major role in the maternal defense strategy), reduction of uterine contractility (adequate progesterone concentrations in myometrium are able to counteract prostaglandin stimulatory activity as well as oxytocin), improvement of utero-placental circulation and luteal phase support (it has been demonstrated that progesterone may promote the invasion of extravillous trophoblasts to the decidua by inhibiting apoptosis of extravillous trophoblasts). Once the therapeutic need of progesterone is established, the key factor is the decision of the best route to administer the hormone and the optimal dosage determination. Progesterone can be administered by many different routes, but the most utilized are oral, the vaginal and intramuscular administration. The main uses of progesterone are represented by: threatened miscarriage, recurrent miscarriage and preterm birth (in the prevention strategy, as a tocolytic agent and also in the maintenance of uterine quiescence).
Background: COVID-19 is a pandemic disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 and it spread globally in the last few months. The complete lack of specific treatment forced clinicians to use old drugs, chosen for their efficacy against similar viruses or their in vitro activity. Trials on patients are ongoing but the majority of information comes from small case series and single center reports. We aimed to provide a literature review on the putative effectiveness and safety of available treatments for COVID-19 in pregnant women. Methods: We reviewed all the available literature concerning the drugs that have been used in the treatment of COVID-19 during pregnancy and whose safe assumption during pregnancy had been demonstrated by clinical studies (i.e. including studies on other infectious diseases). Drugs contra-indicated during pregnancy or with unknown adverse effects were not included in our review. Results and conclusions: Clinical trials are not often conducted among pregnant patients for safety reasons and this means that drugs that may be effective in general population cannot be used for pregnant women due to the lack of knowledge of side effects in this category of people .The choice to use a specific drug for COVID-19 in pregnancy should take into account benefits and possible adverse events in each single case. In the current situation of uncertainty and poor knowledge about the management of COVID-19 during pregnancy, this present overview may provide useful information for physicians with practical implications.
Preeclampsia-a disorder of uterine "stretch?"TO THE EDITORS: In 1953, Sophian reported experiments inflating balloons in rabbit uteri and watching their kidneys turn white; he released the stretch, and renal blood flow was promptly restored. 1 Dividing the uterorenal nerves abolished the reflex. He proposed that activating uterorenal nerves (cf, cardiorenal, hepatorenal, lienorenal, etc) was the mechanism
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