Local resection may be a strong alternative to cesarean hysterectomy in conservative surgical management of placenta percreta: experiences from a tertiary hospital

Objective: To evaluate and describe a surgical approach for uterine preservation and management of postpartum hemorrhage in placenta percreta.

Methods: We analyzed the data of patients who were diagnosed with placenta percreta prenatally and subsequently underwent cesarean section in which local resection technique was used to manage postpartum hemorrhage and uterine preservation at our tertiary care center between 2013 and 2016. The technique includes local resection of placental invasion site and suturing the new uterine edges.

Results: The technique of local resection described above was successful in preserving the uterus and stopping the bleeding in 8 of 12 cases. The diagnosis of placenta percreta in all cases was confirmed intraoperatively and postoperatively by histological examinations. Four cases were resorted to hysterectomy. The mean number of transfused erythrocyte suspension was 4.8?±?2.6. One complication of bladder injury was encountered in which treated conservatively.

Conclusion: Local resection of percreta site is an effective, safe and fertility preserving approach that can be applied to manage the postpartum hemorrhage and preservation of uterus in patients with placenta percreta.     

Maternal serum thiol/disulfide homeostasis in pregnancies complicated by neural tube defects: report of a preliminary study

Objective: To determine and evaluate the maternal serum thiol/disulfide homeostasis in pregnancies complicated by neural tube defects (NTD) via a novel method.

Methods: Seventy-three pregnant women with NTD (study group) and seventy-one healthy control pregnant women (control group) were included in the study. A new and fully automated method was used to measure plasma native thiol, total thiol and disulfide levels, based on the reduction of dynamic disulfide bonds to functional thiol groups by sodium borohydrate.

Results: The study and control groups were gestational age-matched. There were no statistical differences in demographic variables regarding age, gravidity, parity and body mass index. The serum native thiol levels (–SH) were 360.5?±?50.3 and 353.3?±?31.0?μmol/l in study and control groups, respectively, which was not statistically different (p?=?0.308). The native thiol/total thiol, disulfide/native thiol and disulfide/total thiol ratios were not statistically significantly different (p?>?0.05).

Conclusion: Our preliminary results show that maternal serum thiol/disulfide homeostatis does not change in pregnancies complicated by NTD. Larger further studies are required to evaluate the relation of oxidative stress and development of NTD.     

Postacute predictors of functional and cognitive progress in traumatic brain injury: somatosensory evoked potentials

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic value of electrophysiologic studies performed during the postacute phase after traumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: A prospective comparative study in which 26 patients with TBI participated. Patients were grouped according to their admission short-latency somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) results. Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied to different SEP groups to determine the differences among them in specific functional and cognitive outcome measures. SETTING: An inpatient brain injury rehabilitation unit. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six patients with TBI who were admitted to the rehabilitation center at the postacute phase for a late inpatient rehabilitation program and 15 age-matched healthy subjects who served as a control group for the electrophysiologic comparison. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Motricity Index, Barthel Index, Disability Rating Scale, Mini-Mental Status Exam, and Rancho Los Amigos Scale. RESULTS: Disability Rating Scale scores at discharge and rate of change of Barthel Index scores differed between median nerve SEP classification groups (p<.05 for both). Disability Rating Scale scores at admission (p<.05) and at discharge (p<.01), Barthel Index scores at discharge (p<.05), and rate of change of Barthel Index scores (p<.05) differed between tibial nerve SEP classification groups. There was a relation between Motricity Index side scores at discharge and the different body side SEP response groups (p<.0001). Cognitive results showed no relation to the SEP groups. CONCLUSIONS: Postacute SEP scores after a late admission to a rehabilitation center showed a relation to measures of functional and motor progress. Patients with better SEP responses were more likely to experience greater functional and motor improvement. Cognitive functions were not related to SEP results.