Objectives: Thrombocytopenia is defined as a platelet count of < 150 × 10 9 /L. It is a common hematologic abnormality during pregnancy. Evaluation and treatment of gestational thrombocytopenia can be both, expensive and invasive, and may result in an adverse outcome. The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence of perinatal complications in pregnancies complicated with gestational thrombocytopenia and to determine if the severity of maternal gestational thrombocytopenia implicates unfavorable perinatal outcome. Material and methods:Over a period of three years, we identified 50 patients with gestational thrombocytopenia: 38 with platelet count between 50-100 × 10 9 /L -classified as moderate thrombocytopenia, and 12 with platelet count of < 50 × 10 9 /L -classified as severe thrombocytopenia. Fifty women with normal platelet count constituted the control group. Maternal complications and neonatal outcomes were compared. Results:Neonatal thrombocytopenia occurred more often in pregnancies complicated with gestational thrombocytopenia (p = 0.041). Thrombocytopenia in previous pregnancy seems to be an important predicting factor for disease severity in the current pregnancy (p = 0.01). Conclusions:Gestational thrombocytopenia, even if severe, is not associated with adverse maternal or neonatal outcome. Moderate neonatal thrombocytopenia is more common in pregnancies complicated with severe gestational thrombocytopenia. The incidence of severe gestational thrombocytopenia is higher in patients with thrombocytopenia in previous pregnancy.

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a transgenerational transmission of violence within the family on a sample of parents of preschool children in Croatia, and to identify the factors that increase the likelihood of child abuse. The Child Abuse Questionnaire was self-administered to the sample of 118 parents of preschool children (91 mothers and 27 fathers) during February 2013. There were 7.7% of mothers and 3.8% of fathers who answered that they slapped their child, while 15.4% of the fathers answered that they even hit their child with a fist. We found the subjects who were psychologically and/or physically abused in childhood by their parents to have a higher probability of following the exact model of violence on their children. So, children suffer physical violence in larger families from parents who, in turn, suffered physical violence in childhood from their fathers, controlled for all other factors in the model. Children suffer psychological violence from parents who experienced psychological violence from their own parents during childhood, controlled for all other factors in the model. We also found the higher number of family members in a household to be a risk factor for abuse. The study has confirmed that additional interventions are necessary to break the model of transmitting violence from generation to generation.

Preeclampsia (PE) affects approximately 3% of all pregnancies and it is still a major cause of adverse perinatal outcome. PE is a multisystem pregnancy related disorder of unknown aetiology with a progressive course and with no established therapy. In recent times excessive research was conducted on early screening for PE with an aim to reduce the prevalence of the disease with early medical treatment starting from the first trimester of pregnancy in the high-risk group. The aim of this study is to detect if the first trimester serum copeptin and PP13 can predict preeclampsia in advanced age nulliparous women. These are the preliminary results of an ongoing prospective study that will include 400 pregnant women undergoing first trimester aneuploidy screening at the Department for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb. Maternal risk factors used as inclusion criteria in this study were: nulliparity and age >35. Participants were asked to complete a short questionnaire regarding personal and medical information. Blood samples were collected and maternal serum PP13 and copeptin levels were measured. Following the inclusion criteria, we analysed the records of 40 women who gave birth to this date. Three patients (7.5%) developed preeclampsia and eight (20%) had gestational hypertension (GH). All PE patients had elevated plasma copeptin. Our preliminary data suggests that early screening for PE at 11-13 weeks of gestation using biomarkers copeptin and PP-13, in combination with maternal risk factors, is by far the most promising method for early detection of PE in advanced age nulliparous women.

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Preeclampsia is a severe multi-system pregnancy related disorder associated with multiple maternal and fetal adverse outcomes, including fetal and maternal mortality. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical difference between early-and late-onset preeclampsia and their impact to perinatal outcome, and to detect possible antenatal parameters that can predict adverse fetal and maternal outcomes. The research team conducted a retrospective cohort study of 308 singleton pregnancies complicated with severe preeclampsia over an 8-year period in our tertiary level centre. Clinical differences and perinatal outcomes between early-(<34 weeks, n=147) and late-onset (≥34 weeks, n=161) preeclampsia were analyzed. Possible antenatal risk factors that can influence adverse perinatal outcomes in severe preeclampsia were also evaluated. Clinical symptoms and perinatal outcomes were significantly unfavourable in early-onset preeclampsia. Adverse perinatal outcomes in the early-onset group were complicated with 10 (6.08%) intrauterine fetal deaths and 4 (2.37%) neonatal deaths. Primiparity seems to be the significant antenatal risk factor for appearance of early-onset of the disease (p<0.001, OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.48-3.86) and for the first minute Apgar score <7 (p=0.036, OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.04-2.74). Patients with severe preeclampsia are high-risk obstetric patients because of the unpredictability, varying clinical presentation and potential adverse outcomes of the disease. Pregnant women with an early appearance of the disease had severe clinical presentation and more often an unfavourable perinatal outcome.