Iodine status in pregnancy: role of dietary habits and geographical origin.

Objectives: A study was conducted on iodine status during pregnancy and its dependence on dietary habits, racial and geographical origin, and time since arrival in Italy.

Design And Methods: We enrolled 322 consecutive pregnant women: 217 Italians, 62 Eastern Europeans and 43 from Northern and Central Africa. All women completed a food frequency questionnaire on their dietary habits.

Laryngeal mask airway: is the management of neonates requiring positive pressure ventilation at birth changing?

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) on neonatal resuscitation policy.

Design: We analyzed retrospectively the records of neonates requiring positive pressure ventilation (PPV) at birth before (1996) and after (2000) the introduction of the LMA into our delivery suites. In addition, the outcome of neonates treated with the LMA was compared with that of neonates matched for gestational age and mode of delivery who were resuscitated using a face mask.

Cord blood cardiac troponin T and troponin I levels in multiple-gestation neonates.

The increased mortality and morbidity rates in multiple-gestation neonates are not completely understood. Troponin measurements have a role in situations where the evaluation of the cardiac damage is difficult, such as in cases of unexplained intrauterine fetal growth restriction or death. These conditions, along with perinatal hypoxic risk and in utero ischemic damage, are frequently found in multiple gestations.