Protein C global assay evaluation in naturally conceived vs. assisted reproduction-achieved twin pregnancies: a prospective longitudinal study.

Purpose: Protein C global assay tests the global function of the protein C pathway, the most clinically significant anticoagulant pathway in humans. The objective of this study is to assess the difference in protein C global assay levels, throughout twin gestation, in naturally conceiving and ART-treated women.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort longitudinal study of pregnant women with twin gestation.

Fractional-Pixel CO Laser Treatment in Patients With Urodynamic Stress Urinary Incontinence: 1-Year Follow-Up.

Background And Objectives: Vaginal pixelated low power and long pulses (LPLP) CO laser has been suggested as an optional treatment for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with many studies reporting short-term improvements. The objective of this study was to assess the 1-year subjective and objective efficacy of vaginal CO laser in women with urodynamic SUI.

Study Design/materials And Methods: This was a prospective multicenter study.

Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma carriage in pregnant women: the prevalence of transmission from mother to newborn.

Background: Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma have been extensively studied for their possible impact on pregnancy, and their involvement in newborn diseases. This work examined Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma carriage among gravidas women and newborns in Israel, as well as associations between carriage and demographic characteristics, risk factors, pregnancy outcomes, and newborn morbidity rates.

Methods: A total of 214 gravidas women were examined for vaginal pathogen carriage through standard culture and polymerase chain reaction assay.

Perinatal Outcome of Twin Pregnancies Complicated by Rupture of Membranes at 13-20 Weeks: Is Selective Termination an Appropriate Management Option?

Objective:  To evaluate the outcome of twin pregnancies that were complicated by rupture of membranes at 13-20 weeks of gestation and were managed by expectant management or by selective termination.

Methods:  A retrospective cohort study of all bichorionic twin pregnancies that were referred to three fetal medicine units between 2001 and 2016, due to rupture of membranes of one sac at 13-20 weeks of gestation. Women without clinical signs of infection who opted for expectant management or selective termination were included.

Maternal and neonatal outcome of asymptomatic bacteriuria at term pregnancy.

Objectives: Guidelines recommend antibiotic treatment for every episode of asymptomatic bacteriuria throughout pregnancy in order to reduce maternal and fetal complications. We evaluated intra- and post-partum, as well as puerperal maternal and neonatal outcomes of an untreated group of pregnant women with asymptomatic bacteriuria at term.

Methods: This was a single center prospective cohort study.

Does the empty follicle syndrome occur in cases of low number of maturing follicles in assisted reproduction?

The pathophysiology of the genuine empty follicle syndrome (EFS) is still debated. Ovarian aging has been contested as a cause of this condition. Our aim was to investigate the occurrence of the genuine EFS in cases of a low number of mature follicles in a prospective manner.

The "vanishing follicle" in women with low number of developing follicles during assisted reproduction.

Objective: To investigate the occurrence of the "vanishing follicle" phenomenon in women with low number of developing follicles in assisted reproduction.

Study Design: Women with ≤ 6 follicles on the day of hCG administration with ≥ 14mm diameter were prospectively studied. Primary outcome measures were disappearance of ≥14mm and all-diameter follicles on the day of oocyte pick-up compared to the day of hCG administration.

A comparison of enriched culture and Xpert polymerase chain reaction assay of Group B streptococcus carrier status at 35-37-week gestation to labor onset: a prospective controlled study.

Objectives: (1) To compare the accuracy of vagino-rectal enriched culture (EC) and a rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the detection of Group B streptococcus (GBS) carrier status at 35-37-week gestation and at onset of labor. (2) To assess the conversion rate of GBS carrier status between 35-37 weeks to the onset of labor according to the EC/PCR tests. A prospective study was performed at a women's health clinic, referred to give birth at one medical center.

Uterine rupture after previous low segment transverse cesarean is rarely catastrophic.

Objective: The cornerstone of concerns over trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) is the risk of uterine rupture. The purpose of this study was to document the rate of uterine rupture during TOLAC and to delineate its severity and consequences.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively collected the data on vaginal and cesarean deliveries after a previous cesarean section with specific emphasis on uterine rupture and dehiscence in our center from 2006 through 2013.

Peripartum maternal transmission of extended-spectrum β-lactamase organism to newborn infants.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the route of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) transmission to hospitalized newborns was from their mothers during delivery. Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalized newborns were sampled for ESBL presence by stool cultures on the first and fourth days of life. Mothers of ESBL-positive newborns were sampled for possible correlation detection.

The association between multinucleated blastomeres and poor ovarian response under the Bologna criteria.

Purpose: To investigate the occurrence of multinucleated blastomeres (MNB) in poor ovarian response (POR) women defined under the Bologna criteria.

Methods: This observational study was designed in a prospective controlled manner. Among 380 cases evaluated for eligibility, 102 women were found suitable and recruited; 51 with POR in accordance with the Bologna criteria defined as the study group and 51 with normal ovarian response defined as the control group.

The Bologna criteria for poor ovarian response: a contemporary critical appraisal.

Postponement of child bearing and maternal age at first pregnancy are on the rise, contributing considerably to an increase in age-related infertility and the demand for assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatment. This brings to the infertility clinics many women with low ovarian reserve and poor ovarian response (POR) to conventional stimulation. The Bologna criteria were released to standardize the definition of POR and pave the way for the formulation of evidence-based, efficient modalities of treatment for women undergoing IVF-ET.

The effect of LH supplementation to the GnRH antagonist protocol in advanced reproductive ageing women: a prospective randomized controlled study.

Objective: Although the fundamental significance of both LH and FSH for adequate ovarian folliculogenesis and steroidogenesis has been extensively discussed, the clinical implication of recombinant (r) LH to rFSH for ovarian stimulation employing the GnRH antagonist protocol remains to be elucidated. The aim of this prospective randomized controlled study was to explore whether rLH supplementation to rFSH following GnRH antagonist has an added value to the late follicular ovarian steroidogenesis in the advanced reproductive aged women.

Design And Subjects: Sixty-three consecutive infertile women above 35 years of age and/or with a previous low ovarian response admitted for IVF/ICSI treatment were prospectively randomized.

Reconsidering the Current Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes Antibiotic Prophylactic Protocol.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to determine whether the current antibiotic regimen for preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) is adequate for covering the current causative agents and sensitivities of chorioamnionitis and early-onset neonatal sepsis.

Study Design: During a 3-year period, we retrieved the results from placental and amniotic membrane cultures obtained at delivery in cases of maternal fever, chorioamnionitis, and PPROM, and from blood cultures obtained from neonates with early-onset sepsis (EOS) in three participating hospitals. Sensitivity of pathogens to antimicrobial agents was performed using routine microbiologic techniques.

Calponin levels in term laboring women.

Objective: Calponin, a specific smooth muscle contraction regulatory troponin-like protein, is present in large quantities in uterine smooth muscle. Serum troponin levels rise in acute myocardial infarction, and creatine phosphokinase levels rise at high physical activity, both due to destruction of cardiac and striated muscle fibers. We hypothesize that the active labor process may cause uterine smooth muscle cell damage, which may result in rising maternal serum calponin levels.

Effect of mild pressure applied by the ultrasound transducer on fetal cephalic measurements at 20-24 weeks' gestation.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of mild pressure applied on the abdominal wall by the ultrasound transducer on fetal cephalic indices.

Material And Methods: We examined by ultrasound 60 fetuses of healthy women, at 20-24 weeks of pregnancy, during routine prenatal evaluation. For every fetus biparietal diameter and head circumference were measured, with and without applying mild pressure by the ultrasound transducer.

Reduced protein C Global assay level in infertile women prior to IVF-ET treatment.

Purpose: In the last few years more robust evidence is emerging to point out at an increased rate of prematurity and low birth weight in singleton pregnancies following ART. Whether this increased rate is related to ART practice or to infertility per se, is still an open question. Our aim in this study was to explore this question by evaluating Protein C (ProC) Global assay in infertile women before ART treatment.

The association between poor ovarian response and thrombophilia in assisted reproduction.

Objective: To investigate the association between thrombophilic risk factors and poor ovarian response in an assisted reproductive technologies (ART) setting.

Study Design: This is a preliminary prospective cohort study in a university affiliated reproductive medicine unit. Eighty-nine infertile women undergoing IVF-ET treatment were recruited.

Prospective evaluation of early follicular ovarian stromal blood flow in infertile women undergoing IVF-ET treatment.

Background: To evaluate the role of early follicular stromal flow studies in predicting ovarian response during IVF-ET treatment and to assess their correlation with ovarian reserve parameters and clinical pregnancy achievement.

Materials & Methods: One hundred and sixty-eight consecutive and unselected infertile women undergoing their first IVF-ET treatment were included in the study. Basal ovarian reserve and stromal Doppler flow studies were performed in a natural cycle before starting treatment.

Prenatal sonographic evaluation of the penile length.

Objective: To construct cross-sectional reference range of the penile length during pregnancy, measuring it from the proximal edge of the corpus cavernosum to the tip of the glans penis.

Methods: Fetal penile length was measured by high resolution transvaginal ultrasound at 14 to 16 weeks and by transabdominal ultrasound at 17 to 35 weeks' gestation.

Results: Fetal penile length increased significantly with gestational age (GA), from 7 mm at 14 weeks' to 50 mm at 35 weeks' gestation.

Prospective evaluation of basal stromal Doppler studies in women with good ovarian reserve and infertility undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer treatment: patients with polycystic ovary syndrome versus ovulatory patients.

Objective: To gain insight into the ovarian stromal blood flow in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as compared with women with normal ovulation, good ovarian reserve, and infertility and to evaluate the role of stromal flow in these patients to predict clinical pregnancy in an assisted reproductive technologies setting.

Design: A prospective observational cohort study.

Setting: A university-affiliated reproductive medicine unit.

Evaluation of normal fetal atrio-ventricular septum dimensions during pregnancy.

Objectives: Ebstein anomaly and atrio-ventricular septal defect involve a profound change in the appearance of the atrio-ventricular septum (AVS). AVS is the area between the insertion of the mitral valve and the tricuspid valve leaflets to the ventricular septum. In normal fetuses, the tricuspid valve has an apical displacement relative to the mitral valve.

Outcome of twin pregnancies complicated by early second trimester rupture of membranes in one sac.

The aim of this study was to present the outcome of bichorionic twin pregnancies complicated by early second trimester rupture of membranes in one sac. Data regarding all cases of ruptured membranes at 13-20 weeks in bichorionic twin pregnancies were collected retrospectively from three fetal medicine units. Patients who have chosen to terminate the pregnancy were excluded from the study.