Cellular immune responses in amniotic fluid of women with preterm labor and intra-amniotic infection or intra-amniotic inflammation.

Problem: Preterm birth is commonly preceded by preterm labor, a syndrome that is causally linked to both intra-amniotic infection and intra-amniotic inflammation. However, the stereotypical cellular immune responses in these two clinical conditions are poorly understood.

Method Of Study: Amniotic fluid samples (n = 26) were collected from women diagnosed with preterm labor and intra-amniotic infection (amniotic fluid IL-6 concentrations ≥2.

The immunophenotype of decidual macrophages in acute atherosis.

Problem: Acute atherosis is a uteroplacental arterial lesion that is associated with pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and preterm birth, the latter being the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, the immunobiology of acute atherosis is poorly understood.

Method Of Study: Placental basal plate samples were collected from women who delivered with (n = 11) and without (n = 31) decidua basalis lesions of acute atherosis.

The immunophenotype of amniotic fluid leukocytes in normal and complicated pregnancies.

Problem: The immune cellular composition of amniotic fluid is poorly understood. Herein, we determined: 1) the immunophenotype of amniotic fluid immune cells during the second and third trimester in the absence of intra-amniotic infection/inflammation; 2) whether amniotic fluid T cells and ILCs display different phenotypical characteristics to that of peripheral cells; and 3) whether the amniotic fluid immune cells are altered in women with intra-amniotic infection/inflammation.

Method Of Study: Amniotic fluid samples (n = 57) were collected from 15 to 40 weeks of gestation in women without intra-amniotic infection/inflammation.

Prenatal Diagnosis of Dextrocardia with Complex Congenital Heart Disease Using Fetal Intelligent Navigation Echocardiography (FINE) and a Literature Review.

Fetal dextrocardia is a type of cardiac malposition where the major axis from base to apex points to the right side. This condition is usually associated with a wide spectrum of complex cardiac defects. As a result, dextrocardia is conceptually difficult to understand and diagnose on prenatal ultrasound.

Signaling by two-component system noncognate partners promotes intrinsic tolerance to polymyxin B in uropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Bacteria use two-component systems (TCSs) to react appropriately to environmental stimuli. Typical TCSs comprise a sensor histidine kinase that acts as a receptor coupled to a partner response regulator that coordinates changes in bacterial behavior, often through its activity as a transcriptional regulator. TCS interactions are typically confined to cognate pairs of histidine kinases and response regulators.

Optimal visualization of the fetal four-chamber and outflow tract views with transabdominal ultrasound in the morbidly obese: Are we there yet?

Background: To compare optimal visualization of the four-chamber and outflow-tract views of the fetal heart on sonographic examination between morbidly obese (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 40 kg/m(2) ) and nonobese (BMI < 25 kg/m(2) ) pregnant women.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we included records and images from 509 pregnant women who had first undergone sonographic examination between 18 and 36 weeks' fetal gestational age.

Results: Compared with the nonobese women, morbidly obese women had lower optimal visualization of the four-chamber and outflow-tract heart views: four-chamber view, morbidly obese, 83/186 (44.

Intensive Care Admissions in Pregnancy: Analysis of a Level of Support Scoring System.

Objectives: Development of a validated triaging system that can be used by obstetric providers to identify obstetric patients at risk of developing severe morbidity during an admission is urgently required. Maternal Critical Care Working Group (MCCWG) recommended a "level of care" strategy that based patient acuity needs on number of individual organ systems requiring support. The objective of this study was to apply the MCCWG level of support for critical care (MCCWG LOC) scoring to pregnant women admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) to predict maternal outcomes and to compare it to the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scoring system.

Racial disparities in the optimal for induction of labor in low-risk term pregnancies: a national population-based study.

Objective: The recommendation for elective induction of labor (IOL) is to await ≥ 39 weeks. Studies show earlier maturity of Blacks compared to Whites. The objective was to examine the effect of the Black race on the risk of intrapartum and neonatal complications after IOL.

Outcomes following intra-amniotic instillation with indigo carmine to diagnose prelabor rupture of membranes in singleton pregnancies: a single center experience.

Objective: To evaluate clinical outcomes of women with singleton pregnancies that underwent intra-amniotic dye instillation (amniodye test) following equivocal diagnosis of prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM).

Method: Records of 34 pregnant women who underwent amniodye test for equivocal PROM were reviewed. Comparisons of characteristics, amniotic fluid (AF) cultures, AF interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations, and placenta pathology results between women who tested positive and those who tested negative were performed.