Pregnancy Complicated by Listeria Monocytogenes: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Listeria Monocytogenes, a small facultative anaerobic, gram positive, motile bacillus is a rare, but consequential etiologic agent of food borne illness which inordinately impacts immunocompromised individuals. The organism infects many types of animals and contaminates a multitude of foodstuffs such as milk, chicken, beef and vegetables. This microbe additionally has a distinct proclivity to infect the maternal-fetoplacental unit with resultant adverse perinatal outcomes inclusive of spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery, chorioamnionitis, neonatal meningitis and death.

Hepatitis B awareness and knowledge in hepatitis B surface antigen-positive parturient immigrant women from West Africa in the Bronx, New York.

An increasing proportion of foreign-born residents in the Bronx, New York are African immigrants from West Africa, a region with a very high hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence. Charts of 114 HBsAg positive parturients who gave birth between 2004 and 2008 in a community hospital in the Bronx were retrospectively reviewed. Most were of West-African origin (88%).

Lower whole blood ionized magnesium concentrations in hypocalcemic infants of gestational diabetic mothers.

Infants of insulin dependent (class B and above) diabetic mothers (IDM's) have a high rate of neonatal hypocalcemia (NHC) and hypomagnesemia. We carried out this study to test the hypotheses that: (1) infants of gestational diabetic (class A) mothers (IGDM's) are also at risk for NHC and (2) NHC in IGDM's relates to decreased whole blood Mg(2+) concentration. Thirty one term infants born to gestational diabetic mothers of classes A1 (diet controlled, n = 23) and A2 (requiring insulin, n = 8) of White's classification, were compared at 24 +/- 2 hours of age to 32 healthy, appropriate for gestational age controls, born after uncomplicated pregnancy, labor and delivery.

Caudal regression syndrome versus sirenomelia: a case report.

We describe a newborn with clinical features of sirenomelia including fused lower limbs with medial position, absence of fibula, anal atresia, bilateral renal agenesis, and a single large umbilical artery. Recent literature describing the etiology of sirenomelia and relationship to caudal regression syndrome is reviewed.