[Application of a rapid serum beta-hCG assay in the early diagnosis of the ectopic pregnancies (author's transl)].

We have assessed the clinical utility of a rapid serum beta chorionic gonadotropin ( beta-hCG) assay. The assay employed a commercial kit that we have modified to assure its validity. We reach a sensitivity of 10 mIU/ml, and inter assay precision of 8,1% and an intra assay precision of 6.

[Multiple pregnancies. Apropos of 37 cases].

Induction with ovarian stimulators and especially HMG together with HCG are the principal causes of multiple pregnancies as has been revealed by the studies of 37 case histories of multiple pregnancies over and above twin pregnancies. It is important to be very careful and take strict precautions with these patients who often have psychological troubles that have to be treated first. It is useless to carry out cerclage (cervical stitching) after these triplet and quadruplet pregnancies have been diagnosed early by systematic echography, which should be used in every case where ovulation is induced.

[Hydramnios and fetal malformations. A consecutive series of 50 cases which were under observation in the maternity unit of C.H.U. of Rennes between 1971 and 1978 (author's transl)].

50 cases of hydramnios were found in 17,528 deliveries. This gives a percentage of 0.29.

[Maternal mortality in the gynaecological and obstetrical clinic of the University Hospital in Rennes. A retrospective study over 10 years, from 1969 to 1979 (author's transl)].

Maternal mortality in the C.H.U.

[Acute exacerbation of prolactin-secreting adenomas during pregnancy following the treatment of sterility. 2 cases (author's transl)].

These 2 cases were similar in terms of the time of onset of problems at the 8th month, the clinical and radiological signs of the tumour, and the existence of an amenorrhoea-galactorrhoea syndrome with hyperprolactinaemia. They differed with regard to the mode in which the pregnancy was obtained: one was induced by anti-prolactins in the presence of a normal sella turcica whilst the other began during the cycle following the administration of clomiphene with no prior radiological study of the sella turcica. They also differed in terms of the course: intra-tumoural haematoma requiring early surgery in one, hyperplasia and oedema regressing after delivery in the other making it possible to avoid immediate treatment.

[Pregnancy and portal hypertension due to a pre-hepatic block. 3 case histories (author's transl)].

The authors studied the prognosis for the pregnancies in cases of portal hypertension due to pre-hepatic block in 3 patients who between them had 6 pregnancies without having had previous porto-caval anastomoses. In spite of the good results that they had in their cases the literature shows that the condition is a high-risk pregnancy condition: 44 p. 100 of cases have intestinal tract haemorrhages, 19 p.