[Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy: review].

The etiology of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy includes genetic and environmental factors. Bile acids elevation in maternal and fetal blood is the main fact of its physiopathology, causing maternal itching and high perinatal morbidity and mortality. High levels of maternal blood bile acids are diagnostic.

[Evidence based medicine: diagnosis from a clinical epidemiology point of view. Basic concepts].

Epidemiology and statistics play an important role in clinical practice. Evidence based medicine is a systematic approach of basic concepts in this areas. It offers a useful framework to enhance the physician ability in clinical research selection and in the same way improves communication between researchers and clinicians.

[Physical principles, methodology, consistency, and safety in Doppler assessment of the fetal-placental circulation].

Introduction of Doppler ultrasound in obstetrical practice has changed both management and understanding of several diseases that put at risk women and them fetuses. To establish necessary basics and correctly apply this technique, this review will focus in physical principles, acquisition methods, consistency, and safety issues of Doppler ultrasound, in order to improve precision, accuracy and interpretation of this methodology.

[Normal reference values of the pulsatility index from the uterine and umbilical arteries during pregnancy].

Objective: To establish the normal reference values of the pulsatility index in the uterine (UtA PI) and umbilical (UmA PI) arteries during pregnancy.

Patients And Methods: A total of 2081 normal pregnancies with normal growth fetuses were evaluated with pulsed Doppler ultrasound (US) between 20 and 40 weeks of gestation (WG). Both, UtA and UmA, were located with color Doppler US and PI measured in 5 consecutive and uniform cardiac cycles.

[Normal reference values of the pulsatility index and peak systolic velocity in the fetal middle cerebral artery during normal pregnancy].

Objective: To establish the normal reference values of the fetal middle cerebral artery (MCA) pulsatility index (PI) and MCA peak systolic velocity (PSV) during normal pregnancy.

Participants And Methods: A total of 727 normally grown fetuses were evaluated with pulsed Doppler ultrasound between 20 and 40 weeks of gestation. The MCA was located in a transverse view of the fetal head 1 cm after its origin from the Willis vascular circle.

[Differences and similarities of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension].

Current criteria regarding hypertension in pregnancy consider two distinct types: gestational hypertension (pure type) and preeclampsia-eclampsia syndrome, the latter with albuminuria as a mandatory clinical fact. However, reports of lasts years show that a 15 to 46% of cases classified as pure type gestational hypertension evolve to a preeclamptic state, underlying the possibility that both clinical conditions represent diferent stages of the same disease. On the other hand, albuminuria may not be present in severe cases of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders such as HELLP syndrome or eclampsia.