To evaluate the performance of simultaneous amplification and testing assay for group B Streptococcus detection: comparison with real-time PCR and ddPCR assays.

Background: To evaluate the performance of simultaneous amplification and testing (SAT) assay for the detection of group B Streptococcus (GBS) in maternal vaginal and perianal swabs compared with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Methods: We obtained vaginal and perianal swabs from 1474 pregnant women at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University (Shanghai, China) between April 2023 and June 2023. Vaginal and perianal swabs were collected at 35-37 weeks of gestation.

CPY27B1-related vitamin D deficiency contributes to the impaired function of CD4T cells in Recurrent spontaneous miscarriage.

The study aimed to explore the relationship between the expression of cytochrome P450 family 27 subfamily B member 1 (CYP27B1), vitamin D, and impaired T cell subsets in recurrent spontaneous miscarriage (RSM). A Total of 779 healthy women of childbearing age and 1031 women with a history of RSM were involved in this study. The results of flow cytometry showed that the proportion of Tregs was higher in healthy women than in the women with RSM.

Prospective prenatal cell-free DNA screening for genetic conditions of heterogenous etiologies.

Prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening uses extracellular fetal DNA circulating in the peripheral blood of pregnant women to detect prevalent fetal chromosomal anomalies. However, numerous severe conditions with underlying single-gene defects are not included in current prenatal cfDNA screening. In this prospective, multicenter and observational study, pregnant women at elevated risk for fetal genetic conditions were enrolled for a cfDNA screening test based on coordinative allele-aware target enrichment sequencing.

Serum CYFRA21-1 and SCC-Ag levels in women during pregnancy and their diagnostic value for cervical cancer.

Objectives: The incidence of cervical cancer increases every year during pregnancy. Cervical cytology in pregnant women has a unique morphology and liquid-based cytology methods are prone to cause false positives. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 (CYFRA21-1) and squamous cell carcinoma associated antigen (SCC-Ag) concentrations in healthy pregnant women during pregnancy and to assess their diagnostic value for cervical cancer in pregnancy.

Association of serum inhibin a with pre-eclampsia: An observational cohort study with propensity score matching.

Objective: To assess whether serum inhibin A at 14-20 weeks of gestation is associated with the occurrence of pre-eclampsia.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using propensity score matching was conducted on 11 682 singleton pregnant women with established deliveries at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University between January 2017 and July 2019. We investigated serum inhibin A levels at 14-20 weeks of gestation and calculated the relative risk between inhibin A and pre-eclampsia by multifactorial logistic regression analysis.

A new nomogram for the individualized prediction of children's mortality risk in pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: We developed a new nomogram for the prediction of mortality risk in children in pediatric intensive care units (PICU).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using the PICU Public Database, a study that included a total of 10,538 children, to develop a new risk model for mortality in children in the intensive care units (ICU). The prediction model was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression with predictors including age and physiological indicators, and the prediction model was presented as a nomogram.

Diagnostic value of dual-fluorescence staining in bacterial vaginosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in Shanghai, China, and to explore the value of a dual-fluorescence staining method in the diagnosis of BV.

Methods: Specimens were collected from women with vaginitis at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University from January 2020 to December 2021, and the proportions of various vaginitis types (such as Candida vaginitis, Trichomonas, and bacterial vaginitis) were analyzed statistically. To explore the diagnostic value of dual-fluorescence staining for BV, we first executed a dual-fluorescence staining method to analyze the vaginal secretions of 265 patients, then confirmed our diagnoses by consulting clinical physicians and by using Nugent scoring of Gram staining.

Advances in Research on the Relationship between Vaginal Microbiota and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Gynecological Diseases.

The human microbiota inhabiting different parts of the body has been shown to have a significant impact on human health, with the gut microbiota being the most extensively studied in relation to disease. However, the vaginal microbiota is also an essential commensal microbiota in the female body that plays a crucial role in female health. Despite receiving less attention than gut microbiota, its importance in regulating reproductive immunity and its complex dynamic properties have been increasingly recognized in recent years.

Miltefosine exhibits fungicidal activity through oxidative stress generation and Aif1 activation in Candida albicans.

Invasive candidiasis is the most common and serious fungal disease worldwide, and the development of antifungal drug resistance in Candida spp. is an emerging problem. Miltefosine, approved as an orphan drug for the therapy of invasive candida infections by the US Food and Drug Administration, has broad-spectrum antifungal activity, but its mechanism of action is unclear.

Elevated Serum Uric Acid Is Associated With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: An Observational Cohort Study.

Context: Elevated serum uric acid may be closely related to the occurrence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Objective: We aimed to elucidate the relationship between changes in serum uric acid before 24 weeks of gestation and the risk of GDM and associated adverse pregnancy outcomes and provide clinical epidemiological evidence for the involvement of uric acid in the etiology of GDM.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 23 843 singleton pregnant women between February 2018 and June 2022.

High-Throughput Sequencing-Based Analysis of Changes in the Vaginal Microbiome during the Disease Course of Patients with Bacterial Vaginosis: A Case-Control Study.

Background: The vaginal microbiome is closely associated with the onset and recurrence of bacterial vaginosis (BV). In the present study, the state of vaginal microbiota during the onset and post-treatment asymptomatic stages of BV were compared to that of a healthy population to evaluate the changes in different characteristic bacteria during the onset, progression, and remission of BV. Methods: A case−control study was performed to explore these changes.

Association of first trimester serum uric acid with preeclampsia: an observational cohort study with propensity score matching.

To elucidate whether uric acid changes in early pregnancy are associated with the development of preeclampsia and their association with preeclampsia-related adverse pregnancy outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 4725 singleton pregnant women between January 2017 and July 2019 using propensity score matching. The primary outcome of the cohort was preeclampsia, and the secondary outcomes were preterm delivery, preterm preeclampsia and low birth weight infants.

Reduced serum cholinesterase is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the relationship between serum cholinesterase levels at intensive care unit admission and all-cause mortality in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Methods: We used the pediatric intensive care unit database (a large pediatric intensive care database in China from 2010 to 2018) to conduct a retrospective analysis to evaluate the serum cholinesterase levels at intensive care unit admission of 11,751 critically ill children enrolled to the intensive care unit. We analyzed the association between serum cholinesterase and all-cause mortality.

Diabetes associated with HPV infection in women aged over 50 years: A cross-sectional study from China's largest academic woman's hospital.

Background: Metabolic disturbances and immune alterations caused by diabetes are not just bystanders of HPV infection, but the conclusion that diabetes increases the risk of HPV infection requires more clinical epidemiological evidence to confirm. Our aim was to evaluate the association of diabetes with HPV infection risk in female patients aged over 50 years in the cervical clinic.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 6402 women aged over 50 years in the cervical clinic between May 2019 and March 2022 from China's largest academic woman's hospital.

Diabetes associated with cervical carcinoma among high-risk HPV-infected patients with cytologically diagnosed high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion.

Background: Diabetes causes metabolic disorders and immune changes that may be potential triggers of cervical cancer. Therefore, diabetes is not a "bystander" to cervical cancer. However, the conclusion that diabetes promotes cervical cancer lacks clinical epidemiological evidence, and the reported potential association between diabetes and cervical cancer is controversial.

Genetic deconvolution of fetal and maternal cell-free DNA in maternal plasma enables next-generation non-invasive prenatal screening.

Current non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) analyzes circulating fetal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in maternal peripheral blood for selected aneuploidies or microdeletion/duplication syndromes. Many genetic disorders are refractory to NIPS largely because the maternal genetic material constitutes most of the total cfDNA present in the maternal plasma, which hinders the detection of fetus-specific genetic variants. Here, we developed an innovative sequencing method, termed coordinative allele-aware target enrichment sequencing (COATE-seq), followed by multidimensional genomic analyses of sequencing read depth, allelic fraction, and linked single nucleotide polymorphisms, to accurately separate the fetal genome from the maternal background.

Admission serum lactate is associated with all-cause mortality in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the relationship between serum lactate levels at intensive care unit (ICU) admission and all-cause mortality in the pediatric ICU.

Methods: We used the pediatric intensive care (PIC) database (a large pediatric intensive care database in China from 2010 to 2018) to conduct a retrospective analysis to evaluate the serum lactate levels at ICU admission of 12,213 critically ill children admitted to the ICU. We analyzed the association between serum lactate and all-cause mortality.

Multilocus Sequence Typing and Antifungal Susceptibility of Vaginal and Non-vaginal Isolates From China.

is a common cause of infections. In our present study, we investigated the antifungal susceptibility and molecular epidemiology of vaginal and non-vaginal isolates. Seventy-six vaginal strains isolated from patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis and 57 non-vaginal isolates were collected at two hospitals in Shanghai, China.

Clinical application of expanded noninvasive prenatal testing for fetal chromosome abnormalities in a cohort of 39,580 pregnancies.

The aim of this study was to determine the predictive value of expanded noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT-plus) for fetal chromosome abnormalities in the second trimester (12-26 weeks). We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 39,580 pregnancies with NIPT-plus. Screening positive cases were diagnosed with karyotyping and single-nucleotide polymorphism array analysis (SNP array)/copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) with follow-up.

Copan Walk Away Specimen Processor (WASP) Automated System for Pathogen Detection in Female Reproductive Tract Specimens.

Objective: Automation is increasingly being applied in clinical laboratories; however, preanalytical processing for microbiology tests and screening is still largely performed using manual methods owing to the complex procedures involved. To promote automation of clinical microbiology laboratories, it is important to assess the performance of automated systems for different specimen types separately. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the potential clinical application of the Copan Walk Away Specimen Processor (WASP) automated preanalytical microbiology processing system in the detection of pathogens in female reproductive tract specimens and its feasibility in optimizing diagnostic procedures.

Characterization of Vaginal Microbiota in Women With Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion That Can Be Modified by Drug Treatment.

Objective: The role of vaginal microbiota in recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of vaginal microbiota and the effects of drug treatment on vaginal microbiota of patients with RSA.

Methods: A case-control study was performed, in which non-pregnant patients who experienced RSA were selected and divided into untreated and drug-treated groups.

FGF21 Serum Levels in the Early Second Trimester Are Positively Correlated With the Risk of Subsequent Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Propensity-Matched Nested Case-Control Study.

Background: As an important endocrine hormone regulating glucose metabolism, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is increased in individuals with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) after 24 gestational weeks. However, it is unknown whether the increase in FGF21 precedes the diagnosis of GDM.

Methods: In this nested case-control study, 133 pregnant women with GDM and 133 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were identified through propensity score matching, and serum FGF21 levels were measured at 14 to 21 gestational weeks, before GDM is routinely identified.

Is serum vitamin D deficiency before gestational 20 weeks a risk factor for preeclampsia?

Objective: Our aim was to assess whether serum vitamin D deficiency before gestational 20 weeks was associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.

Methods: We investigated the serum levels of 25(OH)D before gestational 20 weeks, and analyzed associations between the 25(OH)D and the risk of preeclampsia. 7976 pregnant women were enrolled in this study between January 2017 and July 2019 at the Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University.

Serum markers in quadruple screening associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes: A case-control study in China.

Background: We assessed whether the results of quadruple screening during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: We measured serum marker concentrations using quadruple screening in the second trimester of pregnancy and analyzed the relationship between adverse perinatal outcomes and serum markers in 12,124 pregnant women. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relative risk of quadruple screening and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Sufficience serum vitamin D before 20 weeks of pregnancy reduces the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between serum vitamin D levels before 20 weeks of pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.

Methods: This study is a retrospective study. We analyzed the relationship between serum 25 (OH) D level before 20 weeks of pregnancy (first antenatal examination) and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus.