Objective: To investigate the placental and umbilical cord histopathology in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and their relation to second-trimester maternal hematological parameters. Materials and Methods: Patients were selected for the IUGR group based on estimated fetal weight below the 10th percentile. Patients were recruited into the control group randomly. Patients were followed up with ultrasound, and blood samples were taken between the 20th and 24th gestational weeks. After delivery and formalin fixation, weight and volume of the placenta were recorded and histologic samples were processed. Results: Maternal platelet count strongly correlates with placental weight (r = 0.766). On the other hand, neonatal weight correlates with placental volume (r = 0.572) rather than with placental weight (r = 0.469). Umbilical arterial lumen cross-sectional area correlates with birth weight (r = 0.338). Conclusions: Maternal hematological parameters do not seem to affect neonatal outcome. Our main findings are the correlation of maternal platelet count with placental weight, the correlation of placental volume with birth weight being stronger than the correlation of placental weight with birth weight, and the correlation of umbilical artery lumen cross-sectional area with neonatal weight. Mild histopathologic alterations might occur in normal pregnancies; however, sufficient fetal nutrition can be maintained. This compensatory function of the placenta seems to be insufficient when two or more pathologies are present, which is characteristic for IUGR.
We describe a rare case of Lyme disease complicated by unilateral neuroretinitis in the right eye. We report a case of a 27-year-old woman with blurred vision on her right eye. Because of the suspicion of optic neuritis (multiplex sclerosis) neurological examination was ordered. Surprisingly, computer tomography of the brain revealed incomplete empty sella, which generally results not monocular, but bilateral optic nerve swelling. Opthalmological examination (ophthalmoscopy and optical coherence tomography) indicated not only monocular optic nerve, but retinal oedema next to the temporal part of the right optic disk. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) demonstrated no P100 latency delay and mild differences between the amplitudes of the responses of the left and right eye. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) demonstrated the swelling of the optic nerve head and oedematous retina at the temporal part of the disk. Suspicion of an infl ammatory cause of visual disturbance blood tests was ordered. Doxycycline treatment was ordered till the result of the blood test arrived. The Western blot and ELISA test were positive for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Following one week corticosteroide and ceftriaxone treatments, the patient displayed a clinical improvement. Unilateral neuroretinitis with optic disk swelling due to neuroborreliosis is a rare complication and in many cases it is diffi cult to distinguish between infl ammatory and ischemic lesions. Further difficulty in the diagnosis can occur when intracranial alterations such as empty sella is demonstrated by CT examination.
Background: To describe a case of a 38-year old pregnant woman with an intraoperative diagnosis of placenta percreta complicated by central placenta previa. The ultrasound scan did not show signs of any type of abnormal placental invasion, just central placenta previa was visualized.
More research is needed on plasma exchange during pregnancy because in our observation placental circulation can adapt to the change in blood pressure.
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