Does infection with COVID-2019 during labor increase the risk for obstetric anal sphincter injuries?

Objective: To investigate the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection during the peripartum period and obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including all singleton vaginal deliveries and cesarean deliveries due to failed vacuum extraction, between June 2020 and January 2022 at a large tertiary medical center. OASIS complication during childbirth was compared between women with and without peripartum diagnosis of COVID-19, defined as a positive polymerase chain reaction test obtained within 1 week before delivery or up to 3 days after delivery.

Perinatal outcomes among pregnant patients with peripartum coronavirus disease 2019 infection.

Purpose: Evaluate maternal and neonatal outcomes in peripartum coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive women.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, comparing outcomes between women with and without peripartum COVID-19. All singleton deliveries from June 2020 to January 2022 were included.

Timing of planned cesarean delivery among patients with two previous cesarean sections.

Objectives: The timing of planned repeat cesarean delivery (CD) is debateful in clinical practice. Planned repeat CD is typically scheduled before the spontaneous onset of labor to minimize the risk of uterine rupture during labor and the associated risk for fetal compromise. This timing should be balanced with the potential risk of delivering an infant who could benefit from additional maturation in utero.

The association of intrapartum deceleration and acceleration areas with MRI findings in neonatal encephalopathy.

Background: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an important contributor to disability worldwide. The current cardiotocography (CTG) predictive value for neonatal outcome is limited.

Objective: To assess the association of intrapartum CTG deceleration and acceleration areas with early MRI cerebral pathology in infants with HIE.

The roles of personal interview and cognitive abilities at admission to medical school in predicting performance of medical students in their internal medicine sub-internship.

Background: The medical school admission process is complicated, perhaps reflecting unresolved debates concerning the most important skills necessary to become an ideal physician. The Goldman Medical School at Ben-Gurion University in Israel is known for placing great emphasis on the personal attributes of candidates in addition to their academic excellence. To this end, 1-h consecutive interviews are embedded in the admission process.

Maternal Blood Angiogenic Factors and the Prediction of Critical Adverse Perinatal Outcomes Among Small-for-Gestational-Age Pregnancies.

Objective: Our objective was to determine whether maternal blood angiogenic factors in suspected-small-for-gestational-age (sSGA) fetuses can predict critical adverse perinatal outcomes (CAPO) and improve risk assessment.

Methods: Women with singleton pregnancies diagnosed with sSGA, between 24 and 35 weeks' gestation, were included. Clinical and sonographic comprehensive evaluations were performed at enrolment.

Association between ultrasonography foetal anomalies and autism spectrum disorder.

Multiple pieces of evidence support the prenatal predisposition of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Nevertheless, robust data about abnormalities in foetuses later developing into children diagnosed with ASD are lacking. Prenatal ultrasound is an excellent tool to study abnormal foetal development as it is frequently used to monitor foetal growth and identify foetal anomalies throughout pregnancy.

S100B in maternal circulation of pregnancies complicated by FGR and brain sparing.

Objective: To determine whether the presence of brain sparing in fetal growth restricted (FGR) fetuses involves elevation of the cerebral injury biomarker S100B in maternal circulation.

Methods: We included 63 women with suspected small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses between 24 and 35 +6/7 weeks of gestation. Maternal plasma angiogenic factors measurements and sonographic evaluation were performed at recruitment.

The correlation between endometrial thickness and the criteria for MTX treatment for ectopic pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy (EP) occurs in approximately 2% of all pregnancies. A common method of treatment is methotrexate therapy, considered in haemodynamically stable patients. Endometrial thickness has been investigated as a tool for diagnosing EP.

The use of sonographic myometrial thickness measurements for the prediction of time from induction of labor to delivery.

Background: Several attempts have been made to find tools for the prediction of successful induction of labor. Sonographic myometrial thickness has not yet been investigated regarding its use as a clinical tool for the course of labor induction.

Objective: To evaluate the role of sonographic measurement of myometrial thickness in the prediction of the time interval to successful vaginal delivery after induction of labor.

Estimation of fetal weight using Hadlock's formulas: Is head circumference an essential parameter?

Objectives: To test the equivalence of two fetal weight estimation formulas generated by Hadlock, a formula that includes head circumference parameter (H1), and another (H2) which excludes this parameter. A secondary aim was to identify the patients in which H2 formula is less reliable to use.

Study Design: This retrospective cohort study included a total of 1220 sonographic fetal weight estimations performed within seven days of delivery and recorded at a single medical center from January 2014 to December 2016.

Fetal wide subarachnoid space and its outcome in cases of macrocephaly without ventriculomegaly.

To examine the occurrence and outcomes of fetuses with wide subarachnoid space (WSS) without ventriculomegaly in pregnant women with fetal macrocephaly as a sole diagnosis. A retrospective study was performed, analyzing patients with fetal macrocephaly between the years 2008 and 2018. All these patients underwent MRI, in order to detect brain anomalies.

The risk of placenta accreta following primary cesarean delivery.

Objective: To (a) evaluate the risk for placenta accreta following primary cesarean section (CS), in regard to the stage of labor, the cesarean section was taken (elective prelabor vs. unplanned during labor); and (b) investigate whether the association between placenta accreta and maternal and neonatal complications is modified by the type of the primary CS.

Study Design: In a population-based retrospective cohort study, we included all singleton deliveries occurred in Soroka University Medical Center between 1991 and 2015, of women who had a history of a single CS.

Independent association between uterine malformations and cervical insufficiency: a retrospective population-based cohort study.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to explore maternal and fetal outcomes in the second and third trimester in women with uterine malformations.

Study Design: This was a retrospective population-based cohort study including women with a diagnosis of uterine malformation arised from workup for infertility or recurrent pregnancy loss, was accidental during pregnancy, or was noticed at the time of cesarean delivery.

Results: A total of 280,721 pregnancies met the inclusion criteria and were divided into two study groups: (1) pregnancies in women with uterine malformations (n = 1099); and (2) controls (n = 279,662).

Sonographic large fetal head circumference and risk of cesarean delivery.

Background: Persistently high rates of cesarean deliveries are cause for concern for physicians, patients, and health systems. Prelabor assessment might be refined by identifying factors that help predict an individual patient's risk of cesarean delivery. Such factors may contribute to patient safety and satisfaction as well as health system planning and resource allocation.

Dilated cerebral venous system observed in growth-restricted fetuses.

Purpose: The dilation of the fetal cerebral veins is a rare phenomenon that may be associated to a bad obstetric outcome, and is usually connected to antenatal thrombosis of the posterior dural venous sinuses. There are several descriptions of cerebral vein distension on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but all of them are detected postnatally. We present herein two cases of fetal antenatal cerebral dilation of the venous system, without any association to any sign of vein thrombosis, and a systematic review of literature regarding pathogenesis, diagnosis and outcomes associated to the antenatal detection of this condition with the use of MRI.

Bicornuate uterus is an independent risk factor for cervical os insufficiency: A retrospective population based cohort study.

Introduction: The purpose of our study was to explore maternal and fetal outcomes in the second and third trimester in women with bicornuate uterus.

Methods: A total of 280,106 pregnancies met the inclusion criteria and were divided in two study groups: (1) pregnancies in women with bicornuate uterus (n = 444); and (2) controls (n = 279,662). The diagnosis of bicornuate uterus was performed in all patients during the workup for infertility or recurrent pregnancy loss, during pregnancy, or at the time of cesarean delivery.

Clinical aspects of prenatally detected congenital heart malformations and the yield of chromosomal microarray analysis.

Objective: The yield of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) for prenatally detected congenital heart defects (CHD) is 6.6% to 19.2%.