OBJECTIVE In red blood cell (RBC) isoimmunized pregnancies fetal anemia is associated with a hyperdynamic circulation. The aim of the present study was to examine further the possible value of fetal middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity (MCA-PSV) in the management of affected pregnancies. METHODS A reference range of fetal MCA-PSV with gestation was constructed from the study of 813 n...

OBJECTIVE Assessment of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) peak systolic velocity (PSV) can accurately diagnose fetal anemia and has decreased the number of invasive procedures, such as amniocentesis and cordocentesis. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the intraobserver and interobserver variability as a measure of reproducibility of MCA PSV. The technique of correctly sampling ...

Transplacental or fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH) may occur during pregnancy or at delivery and lead to immunization to the D antigen if the mother is Rh-negative and the baby is Rh-positive. This can result in hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) in subsequent D-positive pregnancies. The aim of this study is to highlight the challenges associated with the effective management and pr...

PURPOSE To describe the prevalence of malformations found in fetuses with trisomy of chromosomes 13, 18 and 21 by identifying the most frequent within each condition. METHODS A retrospective cross-sectional study with the analysis of trisomy cases of chromosomes 13, 18 and 21 diagnosed through fetal karyotype obtained by amniocentesis/cordocentesis, between October 1994 and May 2014, at a Tea...

Fetal therapy began more than half a century ago when Liley reported the first intraperitoneal transfusion for the treatment of fetal anaemia in Rhesus disease (Liley, 1963). This was to be replaced with intravascular transfusion, initially by fetoscopy and subsequently by ultrasound-guided cordocentesis. This is now a wellestablished therapy and one which was never subjected to rigorous evalua...

A retrospective study from November 2004 to May 2012, conducted at the Obstetric Clinic of Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (HC-FMUSP), which included 92 singleton pregnancies with prenatal diagnosis of trisomy of chromosome 21 (T21), 18, 13 (T13/18) and monosomy X (45X), with diagnosis performed until the 26th week of pregnancy. The aim of the study was t...

Some mothers produce antibodies to the platelet antigens of their fetuses. Exposure to these antigens may occur owing to prior transfusions or through feto-maternal hemorrhage during gestation or delivery. The sensitizing antigen is usually an epitope of one of the glycoproteins (GP) found on the platelet membrane. Specific GPs act as receptors for factors important in hemostasis, such as von W...

OBJECTIVES The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) during pregnancy with thymus size in full-term fetuses. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this prospective study, we evaluated mid-pregnancy serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentrations. The fetal thymus size was measured by ultrasound in the third trimester. Neonatal 25(OH)D3 levels were evaluated by ...

BACKGROUND For more than a decade, most parts of Somalia have not been under the control of any type of government. This "failure of state" is complete in the central and southern regions and most apparent in Mogadishu, which had been for a long period in the hands of warlords deploying their private militias in a battle for resources. In contrast, the northern part of Somalia has had relativel...

BACKGROUND Despite the large number of surveys, there are not any validated biomarkers for SLE disease activity till now. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum level of IL-2 in patients with SLE and disease activity in comparison with control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this case-control study, 73 patients with lupus and 73 healthy subjects referred to the rheumatolo...