Objective: This study aims to compare the maternal serum delta neutrophil index (DNI) levels in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) and healthy pregnancies. Methods: This study consisted of a group of patients (n = 40) diagnosed with isolated ICP who gave birth in our hospital and a control group (n = 60) between December 1, 2015, and June 30, 2018. The diagnosis of ICP was made based on pruritus and elevated fasting serum bile acids and liver enzymes. Laboratory tests of both groups in the hospitalization process were retrospectively examined. Maternal and neonatal characteristics, pregnancy outcomes, and DNI values of the two groups were compared. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 20. Results: Mean maternal serum DNI levels were significantly higher in women with ICP than in the control group (0.49 AE 4.8 vs -3.99 AE 3.02, p = <0.01). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to define the DNI value where ICP can be best predicted. Conclusion: DNI, a new inflammatory marker, was found to be higher in women with ICP than in normal pregnancies.
A 39-year-old woman who became pregnant with twins after an intracytoplasmic sperm injection was referred at the ninth gestational week to determine chorionicity. Ultrasonographic examination showed a monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy. First trimester nuchal translucency measurements of the fetuses were 1.6 and 2.7 mm. A non-invasive prenatal test was performed and revealed low risk. One fetus appeared to be female and the other male at the 14th gestational week. Second trimester anatomic scanning results were otherwise normal for both fetuses. The newborns delivered at term appeared to be normal female and male babies phenotypically. At the fourth month, buccal cell analysis showed chimeric karyotypes, 46,XX[98]/46,XY[2] and 46,XY[98]/46,XX[2] in the female and male infant, respectively. The recognition of sex discordance despite monochorionicity may be a clue for the diagnosis of such rare cases of chimerism in dizygotic twins, most of which occur in pregnancies obtained by assisted reproductive technology.
Objective:
First trimester nuchal translucency (NT) measurement is considered to be an important tool in antenatal follow-up. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of pregnancies with increased NT at Başkent University Ankara Hospital between 2004 and 2016.
Materials and Methods:
Patients with NT measurements ≥1.5 multiples of median (MoM) were divided into two groups; group I included increased NT cases without fetal anomalies (either abnormal fetal karyotype or congenital structural anomalies) or loss (intrauterine fetal death), and group II included increased NT cases with fetal anomalies or loss. The groups were compared with each other with respect to maternal demographic features and NT measurements.
Results:
Karyotype analyses were normal in 73.1% of cases with increased NT (57/78). Among those, 21.1% (12/57) had structural anomalies, and to specify, 9.6% (5/52 over 18 weeks) had cardiac anomalies. Although maternal demographic features did not differ significantly, NT measurements, both as millimeters and MoM, were significantly higher in group II (p<0.05). According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, the optimal cut-off values for NT measurements for predicting fetal anomalies or loss were 3.05 mm and 2.02 MoM. NT measurement >7 millimeters or NT MoM >4.27 resulted in poor fetal outcomes without exception.
Conclusion:
Higher NT measurements indicate poorer pregnancy outcomes. Our study indicates that fetal echocardiography must be considered for all cases with increased NT.
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