Objectives: Evaluating craniofacial phenotype-genotype correlations prenatally is increasingly important; however, it is subjective and challenging with 3D ultrasound. We developed an automated label propagation pipeline using 3D motion- corrected, slice-to-volume reconstructed (SVR) fetal MRI for craniofacial measurements.
Methods: A literature review and expert consensus identified 31 craniofacial biometrics for fetal MRI.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
October 2024
Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol
November 2024
Objective: Parental counseling for fetal malformations of cortical development (MCD) is based on data from studies in children and adults undergoing imaging investigation for abnormal neurodevelopment. However, such postnatal findings may not be applicable to prenatally diagnosed cases. The aim of this study was to review the existing data on postnatal neurodevelopmental outcome for fetuses diagnosed with MCD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Evaluating craniofacial phenotype-genotype correlations prenatally is increasingly important; however, it is subjective and challenging with 3D ultrasound. We developed an automated landmark propagation pipeline using 3D motion-corrected, slice-to-volume reconstructed (SVR) fetal MRI for craniofacial measurements.
Methods: A literature review and expert consensus identified 31 craniofacial biometrics for fetal MRI.
Background: Obesity and diabetes are known risk factors for severe dengue. Therefore, we sought to investigate the association of obesity with increased risk of hospitalization, as there is limited information.
Methods And Findings: Children aged 10 to 18 years (n = 4782), were recruited from 9 districts in Sri Lanka using a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method.
Objective: There are no globally agreed on strategies on early detection and first response management of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) during and after caesarean birth. Our study aimed to develop an international expert's consensus on evidence-based approaches for early detection and obstetric first response management of PPH intraoperatively and postoperatively in caesarean birth.
Design: Systematic review and three-stage modified Delphi expert consensus.
Objective: To examine the relationship between perioperative brain injury and neurodevelopment during early childhood in patients with severe congenital heart disease (CHD).
Study Design: One hundred and seventy children with CHD and born at term who required cardiopulmonary bypass surgery in the first 6 weeks after birth were recruited from 3 European centers and underwent preoperative and postoperative brain MRIs. Uniform description of imaging findings was performed and an overall brain injury score was created, based on the sum of the worst preoperative or postoperative brain injury subscores.
Globally, there are considerable barriers to accessing safe and effective contraceptive methods. Increased awareness and utilization among obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs) and allied health professionals of the WHO's tools and guidelines on contraception is a possible avenue to changing this. A cascade-training model, based on regional training-of-trainer workshops followed by national workshops, was used to share key WHO global family planning tools and guidelines among OB/GYNs in 29 countries across three regions-Anglophone Africa, Middle East and Mediterraean, and Francophone West Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBull World Health Organ
November 2023
Access to emergency obstetric care, including assisted vaginal birth and caesarean birth, is crucial for improving maternal and childbirth outcomes. However, although the proportion of births by caesarean section has increased during the last few decades, the use of assisted vaginal birth has declined. This is particularly the case in low- and middle-income countries, despite an assisted vaginal birth often being less risky than caesarean birth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The association between helminthiasis and asthma remains inconclusive but can only be investigated in counties where helminthiasis is transitioning from a high to low burden. We investigated this association using data from a childhood respiratory cohort in Sri Lanka.
Methods: A case-control study was nested within a population-based cohort of children aged 6-14 years in Sri Lanka.
Background: Infants with congenital heart disease are at risk of brain injury and impaired neurodevelopment. The aim was to investigate risk factors for perioperative brain lesions in infants with congenital heart disease.
Methods: Infants with transposition of the great arteries, single ventricle physiology, and left ventricular outflow tract and/or aortic arch obstruction undergoing cardiac surgery <6 weeks after birth from 3 European cohorts (Utrecht, Zurich, and London) were combined.
Intrapartum fetal surveillance aims to predict significant fetal hypoxia and institute timely intervention to avoid fetal injury, and do so without unnecessary operative delivery of fetuses at no risk of intrapartum hypoxia. However, the configuration and application of current clinical guidelines inadvertently undermine these aims because of persistent failure to incorporate increased understanding of fetal cardiovascular physiology and adaptations to oxygen deprivation, advances in signal acquisition/processing, and related technologies. Consequently, the field on intrapartum fetal surveillance is stuck in rudimentary counts of the fetal R-R intervals and visual assessment of very common, but nonspecific fetal heart decelerations and fetal heart rate variability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Developing Human Connectome Project has created a large open science resource which provides researchers with data for investigating typical and atypical brain development across the perinatal period. It has collected 1228 multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain datasets from 1173 fetal and/or neonatal participants, together with collateral demographic, clinical, family, neurocognitive and genomic data from 1173 participants, together with collateral demographic, clinical, family, neurocognitive and genomic data. All subjects were studied and/or soon after birth on a single MRI scanner using specially developed scanning sequences which included novel motion-tolerant imaging methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe World Health Organization (WHO) has a mandate to promote maternal and child health and welfare through support to governments in the form of technical assistance, standards, epidemiological and statistical services, promoting teaching and training of healthcare professionals and providing direct aid in emergencies. The Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) for maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (MNCAHN) was established in 2020 to advise the Director-General of WHO on issues relating to MNCAHN. STAGE comprises individuals from multiple low-income and middle-income and high-income countries, has representatives from many professional disciplines and with diverse experience and interests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: A uniform description of brain MR imaging findings in infants with severe congenital heart disease to assess risk factors, predict outcome, and compare centers is lacking. Our objective was to uniformly describe the spectrum of perioperative brain MR imaging findings in infants with congenital heart disease.
Materials And Methods: Prospective observational studies were performed at 3 European centers between 2009 and 2019.
Background: Interpretation of incidental findings on term neonatal MRI brain imaging can be challenging as there is a paucity of published normative data on asymptomatic term neonates. Reporting radiologists and clinicians need to be familiar with these incidental findings to avoid over-investigation and misinterpretation particularly in relation to neurodevelopmental outcome. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of incidental findings in a large group of asymptomatic term neonates participating in the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) who were invited for neurodevelopmental assessment at 18 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: To compare the efficacy and safety of dinoprostone vaginal insert (DVI) alone versus DVI with adjunctive sweeping of membranes (ASM) for induction of labor (IOL).
Methods: Single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial; women with singleton term pregnancies, cervical dilation ≥1 and <3 cm, intact membranes allocated to either DVI or DVI with ASM. The primary outcome was vaginal delivery within 24 h of insertion.
Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations are increasingly used in antenatal clinical practice. Incidental findings are a recognized association with imaging and although in some circumstances their identification can alter management, they are often associated with increased anxiety, for both patient and clinician, as well as increased health care costs.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of unexpected findings in both the mother and fetus during antenatal MRI examinations.
The diverse cerebral consequences of preterm birth create significant challenges for understanding pathogenesis or predicting later outcome. Instead of focusing on describing effects common to the group, comparing individual infants against robust normative data offers a powerful alternative to study brain maturation. Here we used Gaussian process regression to create normative curves characterizing brain volumetric development in 274 term-born infants, modeling for age at scan and sex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Brain MR imaging at term-equivalent age is a useful tool to define brain injury in preterm infants. We report pragmatic clinical radiological assessment of images from a large unselected cohort of preterm infants imaged at term and document the spectrum and frequency of acquired brain lesions and their relation to outcomes at 20 months.
Materials And Methods: Infants born at <33 weeks' gestation were recruited from South and North West London neonatal units and imaged in a single center at 3T at term-equivalent age.
Background: Post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal death worldwide. The WOMAN trial assessed the effects of tranexamic acid (TXA) on death and surgical morbidity in women with PPH. The trial recorded 483 maternal deaths.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong the different semiconductors, GaN provides advantages over Si, SiC and GaAs in radiation hardness, resulting in researchers exploring the development of GaN-based radiation sensors to be used in particle physics, astronomic and nuclear science applications. Several reports have demonstrated the usefulness of GaN as an α-particle detector. Work in developing GaN-based radiation sensors are still evolving and GaN sensors have successfully detected α-particles, neutrons, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, electrons and γ-rays.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Nepal Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists jointly with the Nepalese government and with the support from the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology has implemented an initiative to institutionalize postpartum family planning services in selected major referral facilities of Nepal to address the gap of low uptake of postpartum family planning in Nepal. The aim of the study is to find the prevalence of the service coverage of postpartum contraception in the selected facilities.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in seven major referral facilities across Nepal.