Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2001;23(3):159-165
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032001000300005
Purpose: to evaluate the diagnostic difficulties, treatment and outcome in cases of acute liver failure of pregnancy. Methods: seven patients with acute liver failure of pregnancy, managed during the past 4 years, were studied with emphasis on presenting symptoms, laboratory findings, clinical course, maternal complications and fetal outcome. Results: the mean age was 25.8 years (two were primigravidas), and the mean gestational age at onset was 30.1 weeks. The final diagnosis was acute fatty liver of pregnancy in four cases and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in three cases. Anorexia, nausea, abdominal pain, jaundice and encephalopathy were the main clinical findings. Two maternal deaths occurred: one due to hepatic failure, while waiting for transplantation, and another due to hepatic failure associated with coagulopathy and major intra-abdominal bleeding after liver biopsy. One patient with acute fatty liver of pregnancy underwent a successful liver transplantation one year ago (after chronification of her disease). The remaining four cases had complete resolution of the disorders after delivery and supportive measures. Maternal and fetal mortalities were 28.6% and 57.1%, respectively. Conclusion: from this initial experience, we conclude that acute liver failure of pregnancy is a serious disease, with high maternal-fetal mortality, and that early recognition of this illness, referral to tertiary liver centers, and prompt interruption of gestation are, together, very important for the success of the treatment.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2002;24(9):585-591
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032002000900004
Purpose: to report 15 breast cancer cases associated with pregnancy and to compare to a control group with breast ductal infiltrating carcinoma, evaluating clinical staging, metastatic axillary lymph node involvement, histopathologic aspects related to nuclear grade, histology grade and estrogen and progesterone hormonal receptors. Method: a retrospective study of 15 cases of patients with breast cancer associated with pregnancy, attended at Mastology Department in the Woman Health Reference Center, Pérola Byington Hospital, São Paulo, was done between September 1996 and April 2001. The evaluation of clinical staging, time of diagnosis and involved axillary lymph nodes was the main study basis. Also age, parity, histologic type, applied treatment, histologic characteristics regarding nuclear grade and histologic grade and the presence of hormonal receptors in the tumors were analyzed. Results: we observed that 7 patients (46.7%) presented a locally advanced breast cancer (clinical stage IIIA and IIIB) and that 3 patients (20%) presented a disseminated disease at the moment of diagnosis. The patients presented on average 2.4 involved axillary lymph nodes and in only one patient the lymph nodes were free of disease (6.6%). Regarding time of diagnosis, 40% of the tumors were diagnosed during the lactational period, 46.7% during the second trimester and 13.3% during the third trimester. The pregnant patients were compared to a control group of non-pregnant patients in the same age range, all of them with infiltrating breast carcinoma, and clinical staging, axillary lymph node involvement, nuclear grade, histologic grade and estrogen and progesterone hormonal receptors were evaluated. There was a statistically significant difference (p=0.0022) regarding clinical staging and axillary lymph node involvement (p=0.0017), and no statistically significant difference as concerns the remaining parameters. Conclusion: breast cancer associated with pregnancy is a neoplasia with a bad prognosis. There is no difference when comparing pregnant patients with non-pregnant patients in the same age range, the advanced clinical staging at the moment of diagnosis being the determinant factor for survival.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2002;24(9):609-614
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032002000900007
Purpose: the objective of the present study was to determine the number and type of deliveries, category of admission to the hospital, occupation and obstetrical diagnosis for adolescents from the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, from January 1992 to December 1996. Methods: the information obtained from hospital discharge forms was analyzed at the Hospital Data Processing Center. The 6.04a-text processor Epi-Info System, a data bank and statistics for epidemiology produced by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA), and Dbase IV were used to process the information. The association between variables was tested by the chi² test, with the level of significance set at 5%. The analyzed parameters were: number and type of delivery, category of hospital admission, occupation and obstetric diagnosis. Results: a total of 42,969 deliveries occurred during the study period, among which 7,134 (16.6%) corresponded to adolescent deliveries. An increase in the number of deliveries by girls in this age range occurred over the years, from 1,225 in 1992 to 1,538 in 1996. Deliveries were reported starting from 12 years of age, with a gradual increase in this number, especially after 14 years of age, when a 104.2% increase occurred for deliveries at this age, followed by 48.8% at 15 years, 36.1% at 16 years, 14.0% at 17 years, 52.8% at 18 years, and with practically no increase among 19-year-old girls. The highest number of deliveries (5,709) was recorded for the unified health system category of admission, followed by 1,277 deliveries for the prepaid category and 148 deliveries for the private category. With respect to occupation, 14.1% of the patients belonged to the economically active population, while 85.8% did not. Of the total deliveries, 59.2% were normal, 5.6% were forceps deliveries, and 35.2% were cesarean sections. The most frequent obstetrical diagnoses were: problems of fetus or placenta affecting maternal management (7.9%), fetus-pelvis disproportion (6.0%), problems with the amniotic cavity and membranes (5.0%), hypertension complicating delivery and puerperium (3.5%), and premature or false labor (3.4%). Conclusions: most deliveries were normal and occurred more frequently at the end of adolescence, especially among girls belonging to the unified health system. There was a predominance of adolescents not belonging to the economically active population. Some obstetrical complications were diagnosed at the time of resolution of pregnancy.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2002;24(8):521-526
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032002000800004
Purpose: to assess the evolution of epileptic seizures during pregnancy and the occurrence of malformations in neonates born to epileptic mothers who used anticonvulsant drugs during pregnancy, as well as the perinatal characteristics of the newborns. Methods: a total of 126 medical records of epileptic patients seen at the high-risk pregnancy outpatient clinic were analyzed retrospectively in terms of the following variables: age, parity, diagnosis of the type of epileptic seizure, anticonvulsant drug used during the prenatal period, evolution of epileptic seizures during the prenatal period, type of delivery, gestational age at resolution, and perinatal characteristics of the newborns. Results: the incidence of pregnant women with epilepsy was 0.2% in relation to prenatal patients, with simple partial epilepsy being the most frequent type (40% of cases). Monotherapy was applied to 75% of the patients and carbamazepine was the most frequently used drug. Among the 111 patients evaluated in terms of course of the disease during pregnancy, 53% showed no change, 31% became worse and 16% improved. Normal delivery was performed in 62.5% of cases, with a satisfactory perinatal result in terms of Apgar score, and with a rate of low birth weight neonates above the values for low-risk populations. No fetal malformations were observed. Conclusion: epilepsy showed a favorable course during pregnancy and was not aggravated by the latter, with cases of worsening of signs and symptoms being associated with epilepsy of difficult control before pregnancy. Evaluation of the perinatal characteristics of the neonates showed satisfactory Apgar scores and evolution, indicating that epilepsy and anticonvulsant drugs do not cause severe impairment of intrapartum vitality. No cases of malformations or hemorrhagic complications were detected in the present study.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2002;24(4):271-276
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032002000400009
The severity of the association of pulmonary hypertension with pregnancy is well known. Pulmonary arterial hypertension constitutes one of the highest risk conditions for maternal mortality in late pregnancy and postpartum. Patients with portal hypertension of varying etiology may develop pulmonary arterial hypertension (portopulmonary hypertension) and most cases present cirrhosis as the underlying disease; however, a few cases of noncirrhotic etiology have been described. Clinical and pathological findings in two cases of portopulmonary hypertension and pregnancy are presented here. The two patients (30 and 24 years old) developed severe right heart failure and shock just after the delivery and the disease progressed rapidly to death. Autopsy demonstrated fibrosis in hepatic portal tracts, as has been described in cases of idiopathic portal hypertension. Also, pulmonary hypertension classified as plexogenic was reported.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2002;24(1):21-28
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032002000100004
Purpose: to investigate antepartum factors related to cesarean section and develop a cesarean section predictive model. Methods: the study design was a retrospective cohort which included all the cared 843 deliveries in a third level unit from June 1993 through November 1994. Children with 1,000 g birthweight and above were included. The dependent variable was cesarean section (c-section). Independent variables were antepartum factors related to c-section. Logistic regression was used to develop a predictive model. Results: our model showed risk of c-section according to the following variables: maternal age under 20 years (OR = 0.396) and over 28 years (OR = 2.133); previous vaginal deliveries (OR = 0.626); previous c-section (OR = 4.576); prenatal care (OR = 2.346); breech presentation (OR = 4.174); twin pregnancies (OR = 14.065); late obstetrical hemorrhage (OR = 28.189); mild preeclampsia (OR = 2.180); severe preeclampsia OR=16.738; chronic hypertension OR=4.927 and other clinical problems (OR = 2.012). The predictive model had a concordance of 82.3% between probabilities and responses. Conclusions: our study identified 12 antepartum factors related to c-section. It was possible to develop a cesarean section predictive model taking into account all previously identified antepartum risk factors.