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(Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2016 pii: S0002-9378(16)30783–30789) Preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR) are important causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Several studies have suggested that the prophylactic use of low-dose aspirin may help to reduce risk in pregnant women. However, the optimal dosage remains unclear. Therefore, these authors performed a systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials and evaluated the dose-response effect of aspirin on the prevention of PE and FGR.

CondensationProphylactic use of aspirin in women at high-risk of preeclampsia reduces substantially the length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. Short version of article title Secondary analysis of ASPRE trial Implications and ContributionsA. The study was conducted in women at high-risk of preeclampsia to examine the effect of prophylactic use of aspirin during pregnancy on length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. B. Prophylactic use of aspirin reduces the length of stay in neonatal intensive care unit by about 70%, mainly due to a decrease in the rate of births at <32 weeks' gestation because of prevention of early-preeclampsia.C. In women at high-risk of preeclampsia prophylactic use of aspirin reduces substantially both the risk of preterm-preeclampsia and length of stay in neonatal intensive care unit.

Cell-free DNA testing in maternal blood provides the most effective method of screening for trisomy 21, with a reported detection rate of 99% and a false positive rate of less than 0.1%. After many years of research, this method is now commercially available and is carried out in an increasing number of patients, and there is an expanding number of conditions that can be screened for. However, the application of these methods in clinical practice requires a careful analysis. Current first-trimester screening strategies are based on a complex combination of tests, aiming at detecting fetal defects and predicting the risk of main pregnancy complications. It is therefore necessary to define the optimal way of combining cell-free DNA testing with current first-trimester screening methods. In this concise review we describe the basis of cell-free DNA testing and discuss the potential approaches for its implementation in combination with current tests in the first trimester.

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