Al-Alaiyan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0., which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Objective Single intrauterine fetal death (sIUFD) occurs in approximately 6% of twin pregnancies. If it occurs in the second and third trimesters, it places the co-twin at substantial risk, including that of preterm delivery and associated comorbidities of prematurity or neonatal death. The aim of this present study was to determine the outcome of surviving co-twins following spontaneous single intrauterine fetal death. Methods This is a retrospective, observational, cohort study that included all twin pregnancies delivered between January 2015 to December 2019 with a gestational age of 24 weeks or more. Maternal data included were: age, medical illnesses, conceivable methods, chorionicity, and complications during pregnancy. Gestational age of intrauterine fetal demise, gestational age of the surviving twin delivery, mode of delivery, and medications used during pregnancy were also recorded . Neonatal data included: gestational age, gender, birth weight, Apgar score, and complications of prematurity. Results Twenty-two pregnancies were found to be complicated by sIUFD and included in the present study (group 1), compared to 26 twins with no sIUFD (group 2). The incidence of sIUFD in twin pregnancies after 20 weeks of pregnancy was 4.4%. The gestational age (weeks) in group 1 was 34.5 (29-39) and in group 2 was 32 (26-38). The frequency of preterm delivery 81.8% in group 1 (59% monochorionic) and 69.2% (100% dichorionic) in group 2. No significant statistical differences were found between the two groups in complications of prematurity. Conclusions We conclude that delaying delivery in twin pregnancies complicated by single intrauterine demise with regular follow-up may lead to delivering infants with fewer complications of prematurity.

Background: Parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis (PNAC) is frequently seen in preterm infants receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for a long duration. The pathogenesis of PNAC is believed to be multifactorial; however, phytosterols are hepatotoxic, resulting in cholestasis. A novel lipid emulsion consisting of a mixture of soybean oil, medium-chain triglycerides, olive oil, and fish oil (SMOFlipid) with a low level of phytosterols has been shown to improve cholestasis. Moreover, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has improved bile flow and normalized liver function tests. This study aimed to determine the effect of UDCA and SMOFlipid in preventing and treating PNAC in infants.Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study that included all infants who received TPN for at least five days between January 2010 and December 2018, who also received UDCA for the treatment of cholestasis, and infants who developed cholestasis but were not treated with UDCA. In addition, any infants who received SMOFlipid for parenteral nutrition during the same period were included. We recorded multiple variables, including neonatal demographic data, major medical diagnosis, liver function, medications, and maternal variables.Results: A total of 58 infants with cholestasis who received UDCA for treatment were identified. The infants were divided into two groups, Group 1 infants had gestational age (GA) of ≤32 weeks, and Group 2 had GA of >32 weeks. We found that combining SMOFlipid with UDCA resulted in a significant reduction in cholestasis duration in both groups. Infants in Group 1 who received SMOFlipid had cholestasis for a mean of 67 ± 57 days, and those who did not receive SMOFlipid had cholestasis for a mean of 145 ± 102 days (p=0.04). Infants in Group 2 who received SMOFlipid had cholestasis for a mean of 38.2 ± 28 days, and those who did not receive SMOFlipid had cholestasis for a mean of 117 ± 119 days (p=0.02).Conclusions: According to our results, the use of UDCA and SMOFlipid reduced the duration of parenteral nutrition-associated with cholestasis in very low birth weight infants.