[RISK FACTORS, COMPLICATIONS AND OUTCOMES OF PREGNANCIES WITH VELAMENTOUS CORD INSERTION].

Introduction: A velamentous cord insertion (VCI) describes a peripheral umbilical cord insertion to the placenta with blood vessels from the cord traversing fetal membranes before reaching the placental margin. These vessels remain unprotected and exposed to pressure and injury during pregnancy and labor.

Objectives: To determine the risk factors for VCI, and assess the risk for complications and adverse outcomes of pregnancies with VCI.

Fetal heart rate patterns of pregnancies with vasa previa and velamentous cord insertion.

Objective: To investigate the fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns in pregnancies complicated with vasa previa and velamentous cord insertion (VCI).

Methods: A retrospective study comparing FHR patterns in pregnancies and subsequent pregnancies with/without VCI and in pregnancies with/without vasa previa was conducted. For each patient, FHR patterns were compared to the subsequent pregnancy.

Fetal heart rate tracing patterns associated with congenital hypothyroidism.

Objective: This study was undertaken to determine fetal heart rate (FHR) tracing patterns associated with congenital hypothyroidism.

Study Design: FHR patterns of 59 women whose babies were diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism were retrospectively compared with tracings of 78 of their siblings. Tracings were interpreted during the first stage of labor.

Effects of early breastfeeding on neonatal glucose levels of term infants born to women with gestational diabetes.

Background: Infants born to diabetic women are at higher risk for hypoglycaemia related to hyperinsulinism in response to maternal hyperglycaemia during pregnancy. As such, recommendations to prevent neonatal hypoglycaemia include infant feeding in the early postpartum period. The present study aimed to examine the effect of early breastfeeding and type of nutrition used for the first feed (human milk or formula) on glucose levels in infants born to women with gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes complicated by hydramnios was not associated with increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To determine whether gestational diabetes (GDM) complicated with hydramnios is associated with higher rates of perinatal morbidity and mortality than those with normal amniotic fluid (AFI).

Study Design: A case control study of 368 pregnant women with GDM was conducted between January 1995 and December 1996. The study group consisted of 184 women with hydramnios (AFI>25 cm) that were matched for maternal age, parity, and gestational age to 184 women with gestational diabetes and normal AFI.

Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis: the histological features of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection.

Aims: The distinction between nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lymphadenitis and other causes of cervical lymphadenitis is critical, as different entities call for different treatments. Despite modern diagnostic techniques for NTM infections their prompt and accurate diagnosis is still difficult. We assessed the value of different histological features in diagnosing clinically suggestive NTM cervical lymphadenitis in cases of granulomatous cervical lymphadenitis.

How automatic is manual gear shifting?

Manual gear shifting is often used as an example of an automated (vs. controlled) process in driving. The present study provided an empirical evaluation of this assumption by evaluating sign detection and recall performance of novice and experienced drivers driving manual shift and automatic transmission cars in a downtown area requiring frequent gear shifting.

Crisis intervention for community-based individuals with developmental disabilities and behavioral and psychiatric disorders.

When individuals with a developmental disability experience a behavioral or psychiatric crisis, their community placement may be threatened. A model crisis intervention program for individuals with dual diagnoses was discussed and performance and outcomes of such a service for 267 children and adults reviewed. Analysis indicated that 69% of the individuals required only one crisis intervention.

Characteristics of community-based individuals with mental retardation and aggressive behavioral disorders.

A cohort of 199 individuals with mental retardation referred for behavioral and psychiatric crisis intervention services was studied to determine attributes differentiating physically aggressive behavior from other behavioral problems. Individuals with aggressive and nonaggressive behavior had similar neurological histories and current medical status and similar levels of seizure disorders and CNS abnormalities. Aggressive individuals more often had psychiatric diagnoses of organic brain syndrome, but frequencies of this diagnosis in each group were small.

Prevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in patients with acute respiratory infections in Israel.

Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae (TWAR) in relation to other aetiological agents of acute respiratory infections in Israeli patients.

Method: Serum samples from 604 patients (183 children and 421 adults) were collected over three years. Antibodies to C pneumoniae, C trachomatis, and Legionella sp were evaluated using the microimmunofluorescence (MIF) assay.

Premature delivery of small versus appropriate-for-gestational-age neonates. A comparative study of maternal characteristics.

Prematurity and growth retardation of the fetus are major factors affecting perinatal outcome. The purpose of this study was to compare maternal characteristics of 63 women who delivered a preterm, small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonate with those of 63 women matched for parity and gestational age who delivered a preterm, appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) neonate. All women delivered at the Soroka Medical Center between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1990.

Obstetric performance in Ethiopian immigrants compared with Israeli parturients.

It was the aim of this study to evaluate the obstetric performance of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in comparison to the general Jewish obstetric population. The study was performed at the Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheva, which manages the busiest delivery ward in Israel. Between 1988 and 1991 a total of 20,047 non-Ethiopian women (Group N) and 431 parturients of Ethiopian origin (group E) delivered at the Soroka Medical Center.

Relatively reduced values of plasma alpha-fetoprotein at early second trimester of pregnancies with hypertensive disorders.

Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy implicate placental pathologic conditions, which may interfere with the normal passage of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) to the maternal blood. We compared the levels of maternal serum (MS) in early second trimester of pregnancies complicated by hypertensive disorders with those of matched controls. The distribution in the study group of MS-AFP multiple of median values was significantly different from the distribution in the control group.

Chronic suppurative otitis media without cholesteatoma in children in southern Israel: incidence and risk factors.

The incidence and risk factors for chronic suppurative otitis media without cholesteatoma in children in Southern Israel were determined by comparing 88 children with the disease to 76 controls with similar age distribution who visited 3 clinics serving representative populations of the region. Data were collected during the child's visit to the clinic by means of a structured interview with the parents and by extracting information from medical records. The calculated yearly incidence was 39/100,000 children 0 to 15 years of age.

[Anemia in children: hemoglobin changes in mild, acute infections].

Anemia is commonly discovered in children when a complete blood count is routinely performed during acute and febrile illnesses. In this study-recovery of hemoglobin levels in children after acute infections was evaluated. Hemoglobin levels were measured in capillary blood of 70 patients who visited a community primary pediatric clinic with an acute infectious illness (37 boys, 33 girls; mean age 22 months, mode 18; 58 had fever of 38 degrees or higher).

The structure of spatial ability items: a faceted analysis.

800 individuals were given a battery of 8 spatial tests which had been assembled with the aid of a mapping sentence of four content facets: rule type, dimensionality, presence or absence of rotation, and test format. An intercorrelation matrix of 49 items from these tests was analyzed by Smallest Space Analysis, SSA-I. All three facets formed distinct regions in a two-dimensional projection of a three-dimensional space.

Sexual knowledge, attitudes, and practice of Israeli adolescents.

A study of 4,976 high-school students in Israel, representative of this age group for the entire country except for 13 percent who attend religious schools, revealed that about one-third of the boys aged 14-15 and almost one-half of those in the 16-17 age category have had sexual intercourse. The respective figures for girls are 6 percent and 16 percent. Age at onset of sexual activity was found to be higher and the level of knowledge about the same as in reports from the Western world.