Echocardiography parameters and cardiac geometry in pregnancy by race and ethnicity.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) parameters in pregnancy by race and ethnicity.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of pregnant individuals without cardiovascular disease who underwent a perinatal TTE between October 2017 and May 2022. Demographics and echocardiographic parameters were compared by race/ethnicity.

The use and impact of pathology tests in emergency department patients with mental health-related complaints: A cross sectional study.

Objective: To evaluate the use and impact of pathology tests in patients who present to the ED with mental health-related complaints. The primary objective is to measure the proportion of patients undergoing pathology tests and assess whether these tests trigger a change in management.

Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed all recorded mental health presentations to our regional ED between January and June 2021.

Clinical features and their associations with umbilical cord gas abnormalities.

Background: We seek to identify risk factors associated with abnormal umbilical artery cord gas (UACG).

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the multicenter Consortium for Safe Labor dataset. This study included singleton, term deliveries with UACG available.

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome after pregnancy complicated by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets syndrome.

Background: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS) is rarely complicated by catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS). Peripartum CAPS is rarer still and can masquerade as other obstetric disorders. A high degree of suspicion is critical for early diagnosis and specific management given the significant morbidity and mortality associated with this disorder.

Cardiac evaluation in pregnant patients with dyspnea and palpitations.

Background: Symptoms of underlying cardiac disease in pregnancy can often be mistaken for common complaints because of normal physiological changes in pregnancy. Echocardiographic evaluation of patients with symptoms of palpitations and dyspnea can detect structural changes and identify high-risk features.

Objective: This study aimed to examine transthoracic echocardiograms of perinatal individuals completed for palpitations or dyspnea to determine the frequency of identifying structural changes.