Preemptive ECMO Cannulation in a Patient with Severe Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction Undergoing Cesarean Delivery.

Obstetric patients with heart failure undergoing cesarean delivery are high risk and the perioperative care of these patients poses significant multidisciplinary challenges. In contrast to the nonobstetric patient population the potential role of mechanical circulatory support in parturients with heart failure is not well established and the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has rarely been reported. We report the case of a super morbidly obese patient with decompensated heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and superimposed preeclampsia undergoing preemptive ECMO cannulation for urgent cesarean delivery.

Association between maternal prenatal vitamin use and congenital abnormalities of the genitourinary tract in a developing country.

Objective: To determine the association between prenatal multivitamin supplementation and congenital genitourinary tract anomalies in a group of Colombian newborn babies included in the Latin-American surveillance program (ECLAMC).

Study Design: We included all neonates born between January 2004 and August 2007 registered in the ECLAMC database. Maternal prenatal multivitamin use was assessed for 122 newborns with congenital genitourinary tract anomalies and then compared to 271 non-malformed controls.