Serum and Urine Thioflavin-T-Enhanced Fluorescence in Severe Preeclampsia.

Common features of amyloid-like proteotoxic aggregates are the ability to bind Congo red (congophilia) and to induce fluorescence of thioflavin-T (ThT). Based on the prior discovery that women with preeclampsia exhibit urine congophilia, we proposed that amyloid-like protein aggregates present in urine also circulate in the bloodstream and this feature is linked to disease severity and clinical phenotype. ThT fluorescence was investigated in 217 paired serum and urine samples from women with severe features of preeclampsia (n=101; median [interquartile range] gestational age [GA], 32 [29-35] weeks), mild features of preeclampsia (n=22; GA, 36 [36-37] weeks), chronic hypertension (n=15; GA, 38 [37-39] weeks), healthy pregnant controls (n=57; GA, 39 [38-39] weeks), and nonpregnant controls (n=22).

Evidence-based guidelines in labor management.

Evidence-based care of women in labor requires a thorough understanding of both "normal" and abnormal labor progress. In response to the growing cesarean delivery rate for dystocia at our institution, a multidisciplinary team of attending physicians, nurse-midwives, resident physicians, and nurses was established to review the literature and create evidence-based guidelines. This article describes the background literature and consensus guidelines reached for the diagnosis of active phase labor, active phase arrest, second-stage arrest, protraction of the active phase, and failed induction of labor.