Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Pulmonary embolism in pregnancy is a major cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. We describe the case of a 27-year-old pregnant woman who underwent successful thrombolysis. Our patient presented to the emergency department after a fainting episode and complaining of shortness of breath. A computed tomography pulmonary angiogram revealed a pulmonary embolism, which was found to be causing significant right ventricular strain. After examination by our gynecologic and medical teams, she underwent successful thrombolysis, made a successful recovery, and carried an uneventful pregnancy...

Validated prognostic and predictive factors currently play an important role in treatment planning for patients with early-stage breast cancer. The role of personalized medicine has led to the search for markers that can be applied to individual patients to optimize treatment regimens. In addition to traditional clinicopathologic measures, scores and gene tests have been developed to independently predict risk of patients in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings. The discovery of these markers provides the opportunity to identify patients at such low risk of recurrence that toxic therapy side effects are not justified...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as an actual or threatened abuse by an intimate partner that may be physical, sexual, psychological, or emotional in nature. Each year approximately 1.5 million women in the United States report some form of sexual or physical assault by an intimate partner; it is estimated that approximately 324,000 women are pregnant when violence occurs. Pregnancy may present a unique opportunity to identify and screen for patients experiencing IPV. This article provides health care practitioners and clinicians with the most current valid assessment and screening tools for evaluating pregnant women for IPV...

Surgical knots are simply a necessary evil needed to anchor smooth suture to allow it to function in its role in tissue reapproximation. Surgical knots reduce the tensile strength of all sutures by thinning and stretching the material. The tying of surgical knots introduces the potential of human error and interuser variability. Knot-secured smooth suture must create an uneven distribution of tension across the wound with the higher tension burdens placed at the knots. Given the excessive relative wound tension on the knot and the reasonable concerns of surgeons for suture failure due to knot slippage, there is a natural tendency toward overcoming these concerns by over-tightening knots; however, tighter knots may be worse for wound healing and strength than looser knots...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Tuberculosis (TB) infection poses substantial challenges for obstetricians and gynecologists globally, as gynecologic involvement may cause infertility, irregular bleeding, and pelvic pain. If TB-infected women are able to conceive, obstetric complications include intrauterine growth restriction and, more rarely, congenital transmission. Appropriate screening for high-risk populations is crucial for diagnosis and treatment of latent and active TB infection, which may prevent reproductive sequelae for individual patients and, eventually, contribute to complete eradication of the disease...

Menorrhagia accounts for a large number of secondary care referrals in the West. Women of different ages have different expectations from the treatment offered to them. Young women of reproductive age often demand treatment that simultaneously reduces bleeding, preserves fertility, and has very few side effects, whereas older women who ultimately wish to keep their reproductive organs may have reason to avoid hormonal manipulation. This article discusses possible management options and introduces a hierarchical approach to the management of menorrhagia based on the medical therapies and surgical procedures currently available...

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) results from a disproportionate blood supply between two (or more) fetuses that share a single placenta. Multiple complications can occur as a result of the syndrome, including intrauterine growth restriction in the donor twin, cardiomyopathies in recipients, and neurodevelopmental morbidities in survivors. Studies indicate that patients with TTTS have higher incidences of congenital heart disease compared with the unaffected population, and even when compared with uncomplicated monochorionic diamniotic twins...

Throughout history, there has been the belief that diseases that affect the mouth, such as periodontal disease, can have an effect on the rest of the body. It is only very recently that scientists and clinicians have begun to provide an increasing body of scientific evidence suggesting that moderate untreated periodontitis may affect an individual systemically, and may contribute to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and preterm low birth weight. Birth weight is affected by multiple factors and is considered as an outcome of a complex multifactorial system...

AMNIOCENTESIS FOR FETAL LUNG MATURITY HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN PERFORMED FOR MANY REASONS: uterine and placental complications, maternal comorbidities, fetal issues, and even obstetric problems. Even though the risks associated with third trimester amniocentesis are extremely low, complications have been documented, including preterm labor, placental abruptions, intrauterine rupture, maternal sepsis, fetal heart rate abnormalities, and fetal-maternal hemorrhage. This review presents the types of tests for fetal lung maturity, presents the indications and tests utilized, and discusses recommendations for when amniocentesis for fetal lung maturity may be appropriate...

Successful pregnancy outcomes are possible among all solid organ transplant recipients. Patients should be fully counseled regarding the potential adverse fetal outcomes, including prematurity and low birth weight. Transplant recipients are at an increased risk for both maternal and neonatal complications and should be seen by a high-risk obstetrician in conjunction with their transplant teams. Ideally, preconception counseling begins during the pretransplantation evaluation process. Initiating contraception early after transplantation is ideal, and long-acting reversible methods such as intrauterine devices and subdermal implants may be preferred...

Prenatal detection of chromosome abnormalities has been offered for more than 40 years, first by amniocentesis in the early 1970s and additionally by chorionic villus sampling (CVS) in the early 1980s. Given the well-recognized association between increasing maternal age and trisomy,1-3 the primary utilization of prenatal testing has been by older mothers. This has drastically reduced the incidence of aneuploid children born to older mothers.4 Although younger women have relatively low risks of conceiving a child with aneuploidy, the majority of pregnant women are in their late teens, 20s, and early 30s...

Interest in global maternal health has steadily increased over the past decade. Medical schools are offering courses on this subject, residencies are incorporating international elective rotations into their practices, and retiring practitioners are opting to spend a year or two in low-resource settings. Although interest is growing, sometimes wellmeaning health practitioners are not entirely prepared for their new experience. Prior to departure, a multistep process is necessary to prepare physicians for living and practicing overseas...

Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) affects 30% of women at some time during their reproductive years and is one of the most common reasons a woman sees a gynecologist. Many women are turning to endometrial ablation to manage their AUB. This article reviews the data relating to the available endometrial ablation techniques performed with hysteroscopic sterilization, and focuses on data from patients who had Essure® (Conceptus, San Carlos, CA) coils placed prior to performance of endometrial ablation. Reviewed specifically are data regarding safety and efficacy of these two procedures when combined...

Streptococcus agalactiae, also known as Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is an opportunistic pathogen that colonizes the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of up to 50% of healthy adults and newborns; it is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. Early detection can be used to establish the use of antibiotic prophylaxis to significantly reduce neonatal sepsis. This article reviews methods of detection and prevention of GBS infection in the neonate.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Vascular lesions of the uterus are rare; most reported in the literature are arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Uterine AVMs can be congenital or acquired. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of reports of acquired vascular lesions of the uterus following pregnancy, abortion, cesarean delivery, and curettage. It can be seen from these reports that there is confusion concerning the terminology of uterine vascular lesions. There is also a lack of diagnostic criteria and management guidelines, which has led to an increased number of unnecessary invasive procedures (eg, angiography, uterine artery embolization, hysterectomy for abnormal vaginal bleeding)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The migration of gynecologic procedures to office-based settings provides numerous advantages for patients and providers alike, including reduced patient expenses, improved scheduling convenience, favorable provider reimbursement, and enhanced continuity of care and patient satisfaction. With rising health care costs-a major concern in health care-procedures will continue to shift to practice environments that optimize care, quality, value, and efficiency. It is imperative that gynecologic offices ensure that performance and quality variations are minimized across different sites of care; physicians should strive to provide care to patients that optimizes safety and is at least equivalent to that delivered at traditional sites...