Project description:Threatened miscarriage is the most common gynecological emergency, occurring in about 20% of pregnant women. Approximately one in four of these patients go on to have spontaneous miscarriage and the etiology of miscarriage still remains elusive. In a bid to identify possible biomarkers and novel treatment targets, many studies have been undertaken to elucidate the pathways that lead to a miscarriage. Luteal phase deficiency has been shown to contribute to miscarriages, and the measurement of serum progesterone as a prognostic marker and the prescription of progesterone supplementation has been proposed as possible diagnostic and treatment methods. However, luteal phase deficiency only accounts for 35% of miscarriages. In order to understand the other causes of spontaneous miscarriage and possible novel urine biomarkers for miscarriage, we looked at the changes in urinary metabolites in women with threatened miscarriage. To this end, we performed a case-control study of eighty patients who presented with threatened miscarriage between 6 and 10 weeks gestation. Urine metabolomics analyses of forty patients with spontaneous miscarriages and forty patients with ongoing pregnancies at 16 weeks gestation point to an impaired placental mitochondrial ?-oxidation of fatty acids as the possible cause of spontaneous miscarriage. This study also highlighted the potential of urine metabolites as a non-invasive screening tool for the risk stratification of women presenting with threatened miscarriage.
Project description:BackgroundA hospital-based retrospective study was conducted to examine the effect of initial COVID-19 outbreak during first trimester on pregnancy outcome in Wuxi, China.MethodsWomen who delivered children at our hospital during June 2020 to July 2020 (control group), and October 2020 to December 2020 (exposure group) were recruited in the present study. All of the participants were not infected with COVID-19. The last menstrual period (LMP) of the exposure group was between January 24th, 2020 and March 12th, 2020, whilst in the control group, the LMP was between May 12th and October 31st, 2019.ResultsThere were 1,456 women in the exposure group and 1,816 women in the control group. Women in the exposure group were more susceptible to hypertension during pregnancy (HDP, P = 0.004, OR[95%CI] = 1.90[1.22-2.95]) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM, P = 0.008, OR[95%CI] = 1.31[1.08-1.60]) compared to those in the control group. Mothers diagnosed with HDP were more likely to deliver premature infants, leading to a higher rate of low birth weight (all P < 0.05). The other common outcomes of pregnancy showed no statistical differences between the two groups.ConclusionsThe initial COVID-19 outbreak might increase the incidence rates of HDP and GDM among pregnant women whose first trimesters were during that period, resulting in higher percentages of premature delivery and low birth weight. These results should be confirmed by studies from other hospitals or cities.
Project description:PurposeFirst trimester miscarriage is a major concern in IVF-ET treatments, accounting for one out of nine clinical pregnancies and for up to one out of three recognized pregnancies. To develop a machine learning classifier for predicting the risk of cleavage-stage embryos to undergo first trimester miscarriage based on time-lapse images of preimplantation development.MethodsRetrospective study of a 4-year multi-center cohort of 391 women undergoing intra-cytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI) and fresh single or double embryo transfers. The study included embryos with positive indication of clinical implantation based on gestational sac visualization either with first trimester miscarriage or live-birth outcome. Miscarriage was determined based on negative fetal heartbeat indication during the first trimester. Data were recorded and obtained in hospital setting and research was performed in university setting.ResultsA minimal subset of six non-redundant morphodynamic features were screened that maintained high prediction capacity. Features that account for the distribution of the nucleolus precursor bodies within the small pronucleus and pronuclei dynamics were highly predictive of miscarriage outcome as evaluated using the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) methodology. Using this feature subset, XGBoost and random forest models were trained following a 100-fold Monte-Carlo cross validation scheme. Miscarriage was predicted with AUC 0.68 to 0.69.ConclusionWe report the development of a decision-support tool for identifying the embryos with high risk of miscarriage. Prioritizing embryos for transfer based on their predicted risk of miscarriage in combination with their predicted implantation potential is expected to improve live-birth rates and shorten time-to-pregnancy.
Project description:Many first trimester sporadic miscarriages are unexplained and the role of environmental exposures is unknown. The present aim was to study if levels of Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in early pregnancy are associated with unexplained, sporadic first trimester miscarriage. The study was performed within the Swedish SELMA pregnancy cohort. Seventy-eight women with non-recurrent first trimester miscarriage were included and 1449 women were available as live birth controls. Eight PFASs were measured in first trimester serum. A doubling of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure, corresponding to an inter-quartile increase, was associated with an odds ratio (95%CI) for miscarriage of 1.48 (1.09-2.01) when adjusting for parity, age and smoking. Analyses per quartiles of PFOA exposure indicated a monotonic dose response association with miscarriage. A similar, but not significant, pattern was observed for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA). For other PFAS, there were no associations with miscarriage. We have previously shown associations between early pregnancy PFAS exposures and preeclampsia, as well as lower birth weight. Now we report an association between PFOA and miscarriage within the same cohort, which may suggest shared but unknown mechanisms. The study can only represent a period of early placentation and clinical pregnancy loss during the second half of the first trimester.
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of Covid-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2) during the third trimester of pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes.DesignA multicentre, retrospective computerised database.PopulationWomen who gave birth at >24 weeks of gestation in Israel, between January and April 2021, with full records of Covid-19 disease and vaccination status.MethodsWomen who received two doses of the vaccine were compared with unvaccinated women. Women who were recorded as having disease or a positive Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab during pregnancy or delivery were excluded from both study groups. Univariate analysis was followed by multivariate logistic regression.Main outcome measuresComposite adverse maternal outcomes. Secondary outcomes were vaccination rate and composite adverse neonatal outcomes.ResultsThe overall uptake of one or both vaccines was 40.2%; 712 women who received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were compared with 1063 unvaccinated women. Maternal composite outcomes were comparable between the groups; however, women who received the vaccine had higher rates of elective caesarean deliveries (CDs) and lower rates of vacuum deliveries. An adjusted multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that Covid-19 vaccination was not associated with maternal composite adverse outcome (aOR 0.8, 95% CI 0.61-1.03); a significant reduction in the risk for neonatal composite adverse outcomes was observed (aOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.36-0.74).ConclusionsIn a motivated population covered by a National Health Insurance Plan, we found a 40.2% rate of vaccination for the Covid-19 vaccine during the third trimester of pregnancy, which was not associated with adverse maternal outcomes and, moreover, decreased the risk for neonatal adverse outcomes.Tweetable abstractCovid-19 vaccine during pregnancy is safe for both mother and fetus.
Project description:Despite a recent endorsement from official and professional bodies unequivocally recommending COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine hesitancy among pregnant people remains high. The accumulated evidence demonstrates that pregnant people are a special risk group for COVID-19, with an increased risk of intensive care unit admission, extracorporeal membranous oxygenation requirement, preterm birth, and perinatal death. These risks are further increased with some variants of concern, and vaccination of pregnant people reduces the COVID-19-related increase in maternal or fetal morbidity. Data from more than 180,000 vaccinated persons show that immunization against COVID-19 with an mRNA vaccine is safe for pregnant people. Many observational studies comparing perinatal outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant people have had reassuring findings and did not demonstrate harmful effects on pregnancy or the newborn. Immunization with mRNA vaccines does not increase the risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery, low birthweight, maternal or neonatal intensive care unit admission, fetal death, fetal abnormality, or pulmonary embolism. Moreover, observational data corroborate the findings of randomized trials that mRNA vaccination is highly effective at preventing severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant people, emphasizing that the potential maternal and fetal benefits of vaccination greatly outweigh the potential risks of vaccination. Ensuring pregnant people have unrestricted access to COVID-19 vaccination should be a priority in every country worldwide.
Project description:The rapidly expanding cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have exposed vulnerable populations, including pregnant women to an unprecedented public health crisis. Recent data show that pregnancy in COVID-19 patients is associated with increased hospitalization, admission of the intensive care unit, and intubation. However, very few resources exist to guide the multidisciplinary team in managing critically ill pregnant women with COVID-19. We report our experience with managing a morbidly obese pregnant woman at 36 weeks' gestation with history of asthma and malignancy who presented with persistent respiratory symptoms at an outside hospital after being tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Early in the course of the hospitalization, patient received remdesivir, convalescent plasma, bronchodilator, systemic steroids, and IV heparin for COVID-19 and concomitant asthma exacerbation and pulmonary embolism. Due to increasing oxygen requirements, she was eventually intubated and transferred to our institution for higher level of care. Respiratory acidosis, severe hypoxemia, and vent asynchrony were managed with vent setting adjustment and paralytics. After 12 hours from spontaneous rupture of her membranes and with stabilization of maternal status, patient underwent a term cesarean delivery for nonreassuring fetal heart tracing. The neonate was discharged on the 2nd day of life, while the patient was extubated on the 6th postpartum day and was discharged to acute inpatient rehabilitation facility on the 19th hospital day. This report highlights the disease progression of COVID-19 in a pregnant woman, the clinical challenges in the critical care aspect of patient management, and the proposed multidisciplinary strategies utilizing an algorithmic approach to optimize maternal and neonatal outcomes.