Clinical effectiveness of routine first-trimester combined screening for pre-eclampsia in Spain with the addition of placental growth factor.

Introduction: Pre-eclampsia affects 2%-8% of pregnancies and is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. First-trimester screening using an algorithm that combines maternal characteristics, mean arterial blood pressure, uterine artery pulsatility index and biomarkers (pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A and placental growth factor) is the method that achieves a greater diagnostic accuracy. It has been shown that daily salicylic acid administration before 16 weeks in women at a high risk for pre-eclampsia can reduce the incidence of preterm pre-eclampsia.

Real-time ultrasound demonstration of uterine isthmus contractions during pregnancy.

Background: Asymptomatic isthmic contractions are a frequent physiological phenomenon in pregnancy, sometimes triggered by bladder voiding. They can interfere with proper cervical length assessment and may lead to false images of placenta previa. However, there is limited research on the prevalence and characteristics of these contractions.