The gold standard for the diagnosis of pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is venography (VG), although transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) might be a noninvasive, nonionizing alternative. Our aim is to determine whether TVU is an accurate and comparable diagnostic tool for PCS. An observational prospective study including 67 patients was carried out. A TVU was performed on patients, measuring pelvic venous vessels parameters. Subsequentially, a VG was performed, and results were compared for the test calibration of TVU. Out of the 67 patients included, only 51 completed the study and were distributed in two groups according to VG results: 39 patients belonging to the PCS group and 12 to the normal group. PCS patients had a larger venous plexus diameter (15.1 mm vs. 12 mm; p = 0.009) and higher rates of crossing veins in the myometrium (74.35% vs. 33.3%; p = 0.009), reverse or altered flow during Valsalva (58.9% vs. 25%; p = 0.04), and largest pelvic vein ≥ 8 mm (92.3% vs. 25%). The sensitivity and specificity of TVU were 92.3% (95% CI: 78.03–97.99%) and 75% (95% CI: 42.84–93.31%), respectively. In conclusion, transvaginal ultrasonography, with the described methodology, appears to be a promising tool for the diagnosis of PCS, with acceptable sensitivity and specificity.

Currently, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is offered as part of a contingent screening for patients with a first-trimester combined test (FCT) risk between 1/50 and 1/250. However, most aneuploidies are within the group of patients with a risk above 1/10. An observational, retrospective, and multi-centric study was carried out, to evaluate the theorical performance of lowering the cut-off point for the high-risk group from 1/50 to 1/10. Out of the 25,920 patients included, 25,374 (97.9%) consented to the cfDNA contingent screening for aneuploidies. With the proposed strategy, knowing that the detection rate (DR) of cfDNA testing for trisomy 21 is 99.7%, the DR for trisomy 21 would have stayed in a 93.2%, just as it was with the current strategy. In this instance, 267 (1.1%) invasive tests would have been performed, while the current strategy had a total of 307 (1.2%). The false positive rate (FPR) rate would have stayed at 5.2% in both scenarios. In conclusion, the contingent screening of aneuploidies based in the result of the FCT, offering the analysis of cfDNA to patients with an intermediate risk after lowering the cut-off point from 1/50 to 1/10, is a valid alternative that might maintain the current detection rates and avoid the complications associated with invasive testing.

No abstract

Although the fetal head position has traditionally been evaluated by digital examination (DE), it has a failure rate ranging between 20 and 70%; hence, intrapartum transabdominal ultrasonography (TUS) has become relevant. We aimed to evaluate the utility of the TUS to identify the fetal head positions in vacuum-assisted deliveries. We performed a prospective observational study including 101 pregnant patients in active labor who required a vacuum-assisted delivery. The fetal head position was assessed by a DE and a TUS prior to vacuum cup placement. After delivery, the optimal vacuum cup placement was evaluated as the distance between the chignon and the flexion point ≤2 cm. The general concordance rate between the DE and TUS was 72.2%, with the poorest concordance rate for occiput posterior positions at 46.1%. In five cases (4.9%), it was not possible to determine the fetal head position through the DE. The correlation was higher in low and medium planes, with 77% and 68.1% concordance rates, respectively, while it was lower in high planes (60%). In 90.1% of cases, the vacuum cup placement was optimal. Our findings show that intrapartum transabdominal ultrasonography is a useful technique to identify the fetal head position allowing optimal placement of the vacuum cup necessary for correct vacuum-assisted delivery.

Objetivo: Analizar la efectividad de las miomectomías histeroscópicas en consulta realizadas con minirresector y conocer si hay factores relacionados con el grado de satisfacción de las pacientes. Método: Estudio observacional, transversal y prospectivo, de mujeres sometidas a miomectomía histeroscópica en consulta durante el año 2018. Las pacientes recibieron medicación para la preparación cervical, analgesia oral y anestesia paracervical. La miomectomía se realizó con un minirresector de 5.8 mm. Se registraron el tiempo y el dolor en una escala visual analógica (EVA) durante la entrada y la resección, así como la satisfacción de las pacientes a los 3 meses con el cuestionario validado CSQ-8. Resultados: El estudio incluyó 59 pacientes. El tiempo medio de entrada fue menor de 1 minuto (47,93 segundos) y el de resección fue de 13,51 minutos. El dolor referido por las pacientes en la EVA durante la entrada y la resección puntuó en torno a 3 y 4, respectivamente. Se consiguió un 74.6% de resecciones completas de los miomas y la puntuación media de satisfacción de las pacientes fue de 27.17. La resección completa del mioma se asoció con una mayor satisfacción total de las pacientes. Conclusiones: La miomectomía histeroscópica en consulta llevada a cabo con un minirresector de 5.8 mm con analgesia paracervical obtiene buenos resultados clínicos, con buena satisfacción de las pacientes. Esta última se relaciona con una resección completa del mioma, sin que influyan el tiempo necesario para su exéresis ni el dolor.