ObjectivesTo evaluate the differences in placental vascular indices and placental volume between normal and IUGR pregnancies.MethodsA prospective study was conducted on a group of 100 normal and 20 IUGR pregnancies between 22 and 42 weeks of gestation. For the purpose of evaluation of placental volume and placental vascular indices, we applied 3D Power Doppler and VOCAL technique. Only patients with entirely visualized placenta were included in the study.ResultsA comparative analysis of vascularization index (VI), vascularization flow index (VFI), flow index (FI), and placental volume (PV) revealed statistically significant differences between normal and IUGR pregnancies.In normal pregnancies, the volume of the placenta was on average 92.42 cm3 larger than in pregnancies complicated by IUGR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the clinical usefulness of placental vascular indices and placental volume for discriminating IUGR and normal pregnancies. It was concluded that the VI, VFI, PV, FI parameters are the best discriminants, with the cut-off values of 5.30, 2.30, 199, and 36.0, respectively.ConclusionsThe quantitative assessment of placental vasculature and placental volume by means of 3D Power Doppler and VOCAL technique is an adjunctive modality for differentiation between normal and IUGR pregnancies. Our findings further suggest that the vascularization index (VI) and vascularization flow index (VFI) are the best parameters with the most favorable discriminating potential for proper identification of IUGR pregnancies.

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The aim of the study was to assess the self-reported cervical cancer screening rate among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and patient attitude towards human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination. A self-designed survey was conducted in hospitalized IBD patients. The survey comprised demographic data, questions regarding cervical smear test frequency and vaccinations recommended for an IBD patient. Randomly, patients completed the survey with a physician present to determine question comprehension. In order to provide test-retest reliability a group of 10 patients completed it twice. Survey data from 150 IBD patients (mean age: 36 years, SD ± 13; mean IBD duration: 10 years, SD ± 6.5) were analyzed. Fifteen percent of the patients reported irregular cervical testing and 15% do not remember when having had a previous cervical testing performed. Only 69% of the patients undergo testing regularly; 30% annually, 32% every 2-3 years; 7% every 5 years. The mean age of patients tested regularly was 22 years, vs. 32 years tested irregularly (p < .001). Only 10% of women claimed that HPV vaccine is recommended for an IBD patient. There is a low adherence to the recommendations regarding cervical cancer screening and prophylaxis. Better multi-disciplinary cooperation between patients and physicians is required to improve patient education and outcomes.

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