Fetal blood sampling immediately before and within 24 hours of death in monochorionic twin pregnancies complicated by single intrauterine death.

Objective: Our goal was to investigate the mechanisms that play a role in intrauterine death in monochorionic twins and that contribute to the high perinatal mortality and morbidity in the survivors.

Study Design: In 8 monochorionic twin pregnancies complicated by the intrauterine death of a single twin, we took samples from 5 twin fetuses immediately before death and from 4 of their cotwins and also from 4 surviving fetuses within 24 hours after death of the cotwin.

Results: Four of the 5 fetuses sampled who subsequently died were acidemic and 3 were hypoxemic.

[Non-palpable lesions of the breast. Preoperative location techniques with vegetable charcoal].

Purpose: Mammography and US increase the rate of early breast cancer diagnoses. The difficult intraoperative location of nonpalpable lesions has led to the development of various techniques suitable to this purpose. We investigated the effectiveness of free-hand vegetable charcoal lesion marking during both mammography and US and compared this technique with other more commonly used methods.

[Non-palpable lesions of the breast. Retrospective analysis of mammographic and ultrasonographic indications for surgery].

Introduction: The differential diagnosis of malignancy in small foci of microcalcifications or in extremely small nodes can be difficult. We carried out a retrospective analysis of integrated mammographic and US results, correlated with histologic data, to assess the limitations of each method and to optimize and benign/malignant ratio.

Materials And Methods: Our series consisted of 485 nonpalpable breast lesions submitted to histologic examination after vegetable charcoal marking.

Aspects of fetal physiology from 18 to 37 weeks' gestation as assessed by blood sampling.

Objective: To construct reference ranges for fetal pH, oxygen pressure (PO2), and hematologic and biochemical blood constituents, which can be used to analyze changes with gestation and differences with maternal values, thus elucidating some aspects of fetal biology and the effects of the maternal and placental environments.

Methods: We assayed venous pH, PO2, hematocrit, glucose, uric acid, urea, creatinine, total protein, total and direct bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactic dehydrogenase, amylase, pseudocholinesterase, creatine kinase, triglycerides, and cholesterol concentrations in 157 fetuses and 134 mothers who underwent fetal blood sampling from 18 to 37 weeks' gestation. None of the fetuses was infected or had chromosomal, hematologic, or hormonal abnormalities.

Prenatal treatment of fetal hypothyroidism: is there more than one option?

Following the diagnosis of fetal goitre at 22 and 24 weeks' gestation in two hyperthyroid pregnant women who underwent treatment with 400-500 mg of propylthiouracil in the first weeks of pregnancy, a total of seven fetal blood samplings were performed to evaluate thyroid function before and after the initiation of two different treatment regimens. L-Thyroxine (600 micrograms) was injected five times intra-amniotically in one woman and continuous maternal administration of the thyroid analogue 3, 5, 3'-triiodothyroacetic acid (Triac) was attempted in the other. Normalization of fetal thyroid function and reduction of fetal goitre were achieved in both fetuses and transplacental passage of Triac was indirectly demonstrated by high levels of free triiodothyronine in fetal blood.