Antenatal sonographic diagnosis of dacryocystocele.

Dacryocystocele is an uncommon condition presenting at birth as a bluish swelling approximately 1 cm in diameter located below and nasal to the medial canthus. It represents a cystic swelling of the lacrimal sac due to obstruction of the lacrimal drainage system both above and below the sac. The average age when the lacrimal duct becomes patent is the eighth intrauterine month.

Elevated serum group II phospholipase A2 levels are associated with decreased blood flow velocity in the umbilical artery.

Twenty-two hospitalized patients, diagnosed as having hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, were selected from two University Clinics. Maternal serum samples were analyzed for serum group II phospholipase A2 (PLA2-II) by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay. At the same time, umbilical artery blood flow velocities were measured with color Doppler sonography for orientation and pulsatile Doppler sonography for recording waveforms.

Group I and group II phospholipase A2 in serum during normal and pathological pregnancy.

Phospholipase A2 groups I (pancreatic) and II (synovial) could be a link between local and systemic changes in pregnancy, reflected in catalytic activity. We studied whether normal pregnancy, preeclampsia, preterm labor and four other diseases have processes involving serum phospholipase A2s. Pancreatic and synovial-type phospholipase A2 were measured in the serum of 59 normal pregnant women and 89 patients with pathological pregnancy by newly developed time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays, and the catalytic activity by a radiochemical method using micellar phosphatidylcholine as substrate.

Transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy: a comparative study.

Thirty-four patients believed to have ectopic pregnancies were examined by transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasonography. Twenty-five patients had tubal pregnancy confirmed operatively within 24 hours after ultrasonographic examination. In these cases adnexal findings highly suspicious for ectopic pregnancy were found in 68% of cases by transabdominal ultrasonography and in 84% by transvaginal ultrasonography.