Did we observe changes in obstetric interventions in SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women at the beginning of COVID-pandemic in Belgium? Results of a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Pregnant women are more vulnerable to the severe effects of COVID-19 compared to their non-pregnant peers. Early in the pandemic, there was a rise in cesarean deliveries and preterm births among infected pregnant women. This study aims to evaluate whether there were any changes in obstetric interventions during the first two waves of the pandemic in Belgium.

Influence of organizational factors on the offer and success rate of a trial of labor after cesarean section in Belgium: an ecological study.

Background: Trial of Labor After Cesarean is an important strategy for reducing the overall rate of cesarean delivery. Offering the option of vaginal delivery to a woman with a history of cesarean section requires the ability to manage a potential uterine rupture quickly and effectively. This requires infrastructure and organization of the maternity unit so that the decision-to-delivery interval is as short as possible when uterine rupture is suspected.

Late miscarriage and stillbirth in asymptomatic and symptomatic hospitalised pregnant women in Belgium during the first and second waves of COVID-19: a prospective nationwide population-based study.

Background: Stillbirth has been recognized as a possible complication of a SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, probably due to destructive placental lesions (SARS-CoV-2 placentitis). The aim of this work is to analyse stillbirth and late miscarriage cases in unvaccinated pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the first two waves (wild-type period) in Belgium.

Methods: Stillbirths and late miscarriages in our prospective observational nationwide registry of SARS-CoV-2 infected pregnant women (n = 982) were classified by three authors using a modified WHO-UMC classification system for standardized case causality assessment.

Incidence and outcomes of uterine rupture in women with unscarred, preterm or prelabour uteri: data from the international network of obstetric survey systems.

Objective: Analysis of atypical cases of uterine rupture, namely, uterine rupture occurring in unscarred, preterm or prelabour uteri.

Design: Descriptive multi-country population-based study.

Setting: Ten high-income countries within the International Network of Obstetric Survey Systems.

Management of major obstetric hemorrhage prior to peripartum hysterectomy and outcomes across nine European countries.

Introduction: Peripartum hysterectomy is applied as a surgical intervention of last resort for major obstetric hemorrhage. It is performed in an emergency setting except for women with a strong suspicion of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS), where it may be anticipated before cesarean section. The aim of this study was to compare management strategies in the case of obstetric hemorrhage leading to hysterectomy, between nine European countries participating in the International Network of Obstetric Survey Systems (INOSS), and to describe pooled maternal and neonatal outcomes following peripartum hysterectomy.

Anaphylaxis in pregnancy: a population-based multinational European study.

Anaphylaxis in pregnancy is a rare but severe complication for both mother and infant. Population-based data on anaphylaxis in pregnancy are lacking from mainland European countries. This multinational study presents the incidence, causative agents, management and maternal and infant outcomes of anaphylaxis in pregnancy.

Epidemiological analysis of peripartum hysterectomy across nine European countries.

Introduction: Peripartum hysterectomy is a surgical procedure performed for severe obstetric complications such as major obstetric hemorrhage. The prevalence of peripartum hysterectomy in high-resource settings is relatively low. Hence, international comparisons and studying indications and associations with mode of birth rely on the use of national obstetric survey data.

High prevalence of spondyloarthritis-like MRI lesions in postpartum women: a prospective analysis in relation to maternal, child and birth characteristics.

Objectives: Bone marrow oedema (BMO) on MRI of sacroiliac joints (SIJs) represents a hallmark of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA), yet such lesions may also occur under augmented mechanical stress in healthy subjects. We therefore sought to delineate the relationship between pregnancy/delivery and pelvic stress through a prospective study with repeated MRI. Results were matched with maternal, child and birth characteristics.

Strategies for Increasing the Rate of Defect Annihilation in the Directed Self-Assembly of High-χ Block Copolymers.

Directed self-assembly (DSA) of high-χ block copolymer thin films is a promising approach for nanofabrication of features with length scale below 10 nm. Recent work has highlighted that kinetics are of crucial importance in determining whether a block copolymer film can self-assemble into a defect-free ordered state. In this work, different strategies for improving the rate of defect annihilation in the DSA of a silicon-containing, high-χ block copolymer film were explored.

The 2019 Flemish consensus on screening for overt diabetes in early pregnancy and screening for gestational diabetes mellitus.

Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is important to improve pregnancy outcomes and to prevent type 2 diabetes after pregnancy. The 'International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups' (IADPSG) recommends a universal one-step approach with the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for screening of GDM. The IADPSG recommendation remains controversial due to the important increase in GDM prevalence and increased workload.

The Belgian Obstetric Surveillance System to monitor severe maternal morbidity.

Background: In 2011 the Belgian Obstetric Surveillance System (B.OSS) was set up to monitor severe maternal morbidity in Belgium.

Aim: The aim of B.

The International Network of Obstetric Survey Systems study of uterine rupture: a descriptive multi-country population-based study.

Objective: International comparison of complete uterine rupture.

Design: Descriptive multi-country population-based study.

Setting: International.

A nationwide population-based cohort study of peripartum hysterectomy and arterial embolisation in Belgium: results from the Belgian Obstetric Surveillance System.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of major obstetric haemorrhage managed with peripartum hysterectomy and/or interventional radiology (IR) in Belgium. To describe women characteristics, the circumstances in which the interventions took place, the management of the obstetric haemorrhage, the outcome and additional morbidity of these women.

Design: Nationwide population-based prospective cohort study.

Nationwide population-based cohort study of uterine rupture in Belgium: results from the Belgian Obstetric Surveillance System.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the prevalence of uterine rupture in Belgium and to evaluate risk factors, management and outcomes for mother and child.

Design: Nationwide population-based prospective cohort study.

Setting: Emergency obstetric care.

Placental retention in late first and second trimester pregnancy termination using misoprostol: a retrospective analysis.

Objective: Termination of pregnancy (TOP) for medical reasons is regularly performed using misoprostol. Presence of placental remnants followed by curettage, frequently complicate the procedure. Aim of this analysis is to audit our current policy for medical termination in late first and second trimester, looking at the management of third stage.

First trimester screening for intra-uterine growth restriction and early-onset pre-eclampsia.

Objective: To assess first trimester placental growth factor (PlGF) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) as screening markers for early-onset pre-eclampsia (PE) and intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Methods: PlGF concentration was retrospectively measured in first trimester serum specimens of 23 cases of early-onset PE (<34 weeks), 26 cases of IUGR (birth weight < 5th centile) and 5 controls per case. Levels were adjusted for gestational age (GA), ethnicity and smoking to obtain multiples of the expected median (MoM).

Glenohumeral joint instability: the orthopedic approach.

The goal of this article is to present a concise review of the current concepts of shoulder instability. This chapter supplements the radiologic assessment of glenohumeral instability, which follows this section.

Treatment of gonorrhoea with a combination of probenecid and procaine penicillin in Rwanda.

Treatment of acute gonorrhoea with 1 g of probenecid orally followed after 1 h by 4.8 M-units of procaine penicillin intramuscularly yielded a 97.4% cure in men.