Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(12):709-711
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(12):712-718
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032005001200002
PURPOSE: to verify the fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns of large for gestational age (LGA) fetuses in pregnancies at term complicated by pregestational diabetes. METHODS: fetal surveillance was performed weekly in 64 fetuses of mothers with pregestational diabetes. Inclusion criteria were: diagnosis of pregestational diabetes mellitus, single pregnancy, alive fetus, absence of fetal anomalies, and computerized cardiotocography performed at the 37th week of gestation. Exclusion criteria included: postnatal diagnosis of fetal anomalies and delivery not performed at the local hospital. The FHR patterns were studied with computerized cardiotocography and the parameters were analyzed according to a fetal weight as LGA (birth weight above percentile 90). The cardiotocography parameters included: basal FHR, episodes of high variation, episodes of low variation, and short-term variation. RESULTS: forty-two patients fulfilled the proposed criteria. Ten (23.8%) newborns were LGA. Normal criteria were met in all performed examinations. FHR accelerations (above 15 bpm) were present in 7 (70%) LGA cases and in 29 (90.6%) non-LGA (p=0.135). Accelerations were more frequent in the non-LGA group (1.5±1.3 accelerations/10 min) when compared to LGA group (0.8±0.9 accelerations/10min, p=0.04, Mann-Whitney test). The high variation episodes were detected in all cases. The mean FHR variation in these episodes was different in the LGA group (16.2±2.5 bpm) when compared to the non-LGA group (19.7±4.2 bpm, p=0.02, Mann-Whitney test). CONCLUSION: the FHR patterns of non-LGA (higher frequency of accelerations and higher FHR variation in the high variation episodes) reflect parameters commonly analyzed by traditional cardiotocography of a healthy fetus. This fact appears to confirm the patterns of better oxygen supply to the fetuses less compromised by diabetes in pregnancy.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(12):719-725
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032005001200003
PURPOSE: to evaluate the prevalence, epidemiological profile (age and origin) and vertical transmission rate of HTLV I/II infection in pregnant women screened by the Pregnant Protection Program of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul Brazil. METHODS: it is a descriptive and transversal study of 32,512 pregnant women submitted to a prenatal screening from November 2002 to October 2003. HTLV I/II infection was diagnosed in all pregnant women by ELISA, confirmed by Western blot and PCR. Congenital HTLV infection was investigated by ELISA test, Western blot and PCR performed on the child's blood sample. The associations between data (age, origin and HTLV infection) were statistically analyzed by the chi2 test considering p<0.05 to reject the null hypothesis. RESULTS: a prevalence of 0.1% (37) 0.1% HTLV I/II among 32,512 pregnant women was found. The mean age of the infected women was 25.4 ± 6.4 years, and 78.4% of them were from other areas than the capital. There was no association between maternal age and the patients' origin and infection. In all the eight evaluated newborns, which represented 21.6% of the sample, HTLV I/II serum antibodies were found. Only one newborn infant was breast-fed. CONCLUSIONS : HTLV I/II prevalence among pregnant women of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul Brazil was lower than the rates reported by endemic HTLV countries. This rate was almost the same as that described for non-endemic areas and in some Brazilian reports. The vertical transmission rate of HTLV I/II was 100%, in spite of breast-feeding having been proscribed. Improving the follow-up of the pregnant women and their newborns in the State is mandatory, since only a few infants were investigated.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(12):726-730
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032005001200004
PURPOSE: to study the influence of the use of oral contraceptives (OC) on the number of Langerhans' cells in women without cervical infection by human papillomavirus (HPV). METHODS: thirty women who presented abnormal cervical cytology and colposcopy-guided biopsy with samples of uterine cervix negative for HPV were selected. The absence of HPV DNA was confirmed by hybrid capture. Langerhans' cells were identified by immunohistochemistry using anti-S100 antigens. The cells visualized in light microscopy were counted using the Cytoviewer software. The nonparametric Wilcoxon rank sum test was employed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: the average number of Langerhans' cells in OC users was 320.7/mm² and in non-users 190.7/mm², this difference being statistically nonsignificant. In the intermediary layer of the cervical epithelium a tendency towards the increase of these cells was observed, with the averages 192.1/mm² for OC users and 93.4/mm² for non-users (p=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: the present study reports a tendency towards the increase in the number of the Langerhans' cells among OC users. This result suggests the OC may induce alterations in the number of Langerhans' cells, but considering the limited number of cases, more studies should be developed for a definitive conclusion.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(12):731-736
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032005001200005
PURPOSE: to evaluate the prevalence of reported sleep disturbances through polysomnographic recording (PSG) in a sample of postmenopausal women. METHODS: thirty-three postmenopausal women with a mean age of 56 years, a mean body mass index (BMI) of 27 kg/m², with 7.7 years of recognized postmenopausal period, and a mean Kupperman index of 17, were selected. The inclusion criteria were: age range from 50 to 65 years, at least one year of amenorrhea and an FSH which equaled or exceeded 30 mU/ml; they should not be undergoing hormone therapy, and should display normal laboratory test results. The patients with severe clinical diseases and/or decompensated were excluded; also the ones with suspicion of carcinoma of endometrium and/or breast cancer, a BMI over 30 kg/m² and those who ingested hypnotic drugs. The patients followed a routine climacteric check-up, answered a questionnaire about sleep and underwent an all-night PSG recording. Frequencies in percentage of emerging sleep complaints based on the questionnaire and those pertaining to PSG diagnosis were then calculated separately. RESULTS: the subjective prevalence of insomnia was 61% against 83% in the PSG recordings. The prevalence of apnea reported was 23% against 27% in the PSG. The subjective restless legs syndrome prevalence was 45%, and the objective, 27%. CONCLUSION: there was a high prevalence of sleep disturbances in postmenopausal patients, specially insomnia, apnea and restless legs.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(12):737-743
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032005001200006
PURPOSE: to evaluate the frequency of anxiety and depression in main caretakers of patients with terminal breast or gynecological cancer. METHODS: for this cross-sectional study, 133 informal caretakers of terminally-ill breast and gynecologic cancer patients were included. Patients were hospitalized for palliative care in the Oncology Clinic of the "Centro de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher (Campinas, Brasil) from August 2002 to May 2004. Seventy-one of the patients had breast cancer and 62 had gynecological malignancies. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) was applied to these informal caretakers, in order to detect anxiety and depression, and they were also interviewed to provide additional information regarding their age, gender, religion, relation to patient, current occupation, if they cared for other people, whether their routine had changed and whether other people helped them to care for the patient. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and its confidence interval (CI), used to assess the relationship between the diagnoses of anxiety and depression among the informal caretakers. For multiple analyses, the stepwise criterion for variable selection was used. RESULTS: 43% percent of the patients identified their daughters as their main caretaker, and 24%, their husbands. Most of the caretakers were over 35 years old (63%), 68% were female, 59% were unemployed, 47% cared for another person and 84% referred that his/her routine had changed because of caring. Anxiety was detected in 99 caretakers (74.4%) and depression in 71 (53.4%). Anxiety and depression were strongly correlated (odds ratio 5.6; 95% confidence interval 2.2 to 15.9). Bivariate analysis disclosed that the patients' husbands were less affected by depression, but multivariate analysis revealed that only the fact of being male was related to a lower prevalence of anxiety. CONCLUSION: caring for terminally-ill cancer patients led to high prevalence of anxiety and depression. Only men and the patients' husbands were found to have a lower prevalence of anxiety.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2005;27(12):750-758
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032005001200008
Congenital cytomegalovirus infection is an important clinical entity, due to its sonographic symptomatology. In Brazil, in utero diagnosis is not accomplished despite the improvements in diagnostic methods. We report a congenital infection including: splenomegaly and hepatomegaly, hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis, intracranial calcifications, hyperechoic kidneys, hyperechoic bowel, cardiomegaly, lung hypoplasia, ascites, and pericardial effusion. Fetal magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the sonographic findings. Amniocentesis was performed for cytomegalovirus PCR in amniotic fluid, which confirmed fetal infection. Fetal loss occurred in the 31st week of pregnancy. Necropsy studies confirmed the sonographic findings. The diagnostic methods have been useful to confirm congenital cytomegalovirus infection and to establish fetal outcome.