The purpose of our study was to evaluate pregnancy outcomes of women with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) positivity and assess risk factors associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Pregnant women with aPL positivity were enrolled prospectively in China from January 2017 to March 2020. Treatment of low-dose aspirin and low molecular weight heparin were given. Pregnancy outcomes and coagulation function were recorded and compared with normal pregnancies. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors associated to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). 270 pregnant women, including 44 diagnosed as Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), 91 as non-criteria APS (NCAPS) and 135 normal cases as control, were enrolled in the study. The live birth rate in aPL carriers and APS group was 97% and 95.5%, respectively. Adverse pregnancy outcomes did not show significant difference between aPL carriers and normal pregnancies, and between APS and NCAPS, except for IUGR. The incidence of IUGR was significantly higher in aPL carriers than normal pregnancies, and in APS patients than NCAPS (P < 0.05). After controlling for age, in vitro fertilization (IVF), pregnancy losses related to APS and treatment, anticardiolipin (aCL) positivity was the only variable significantly associated with IUGR, with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.601 (95% CI, 1.205-17.573). Better pregnant outcomes of aPL positive women, include APS and NCAPS, were achieved in our study with treatment based on low-dose aspirin (LDA) plus low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). The incidence of IUGR was still higher in them, and aCL positivity was the only one risk factor associated with IUGR.

A systematic analysis of serum, placental tissue and urine from women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy was performed by untargeted metabolomics.

Background: Emergency cervical cerclage (ECC) is of potential value in twin pregnancy, when the cervix is dilated to >1cm. McDonald and Shirodkar were two main techniques of transvaginal cerclage at present. As ECC at extremely high risk of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) especially for twins with cervical dilated ≥ 3cm and prolapsed membranes, so which technique has more advantages is still uncertain. Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ECC performed with combined McDonald-Shirodkar technique in twin pregnancies between 18–26 weeks with painless cervical dilation 1-6cm. Methods: A retrospective, cohort study matched with the degree of cervical dilation was conducted. The study group (case group) included twin pregnancies who underwent combined McDonald-Shirodkar approach with cervical dilation ≥1 cm between 18–26 weeks of gestation at four institutions, from December 2015 to December 2022. To minimize confounding factors, we elucidated the causality structure using a DAG (Figure 1) and performed 1:1 case-control Matching. A control group performed McDonald approach. The primary outcome was gestational age (GA) at delivery. The secondary outcomes were pregnancy latency, the rates of sPTB at <28, <30, <32, <34 weeks, and neonatal outcomes. Additional sub-analysis was performed by dividing the patients into two subgroups of cervical dilation ≥ 3cm and < 3cm. Results: 84 twin pregnancies were managed with either combined McDonald-Shirodkar approach (case group: n=42) or McDonald approach (control group: n=42). Demographic characteristics were not significantly different in two groups(p>0.05). After adjusting for confounders which were represented by a directed acyclic graph (DAG, Figure 1), median GA at delivery was significantly higher (30.5 vs 27 weeks, Bate: 3.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.13-4.67, p<0.001) and median pregnancy latency was significantly longer (56 vs 28 days, Bate: 24.04, 95% CI: 13.31-34.78, p<0.001) in the case group compared with the control group. Rates of sPTB at <28, <30, <32, and <34 weeks were significantly lower in the case group than in the control group. For neonatal outcomes, there were higher birth weight (BW) (1543.75 vs 980g, Bate: 420.08, 95%CI: 192.18-647.98, p<0.001) and significantly lower overall perinatal mortality (7.1% vs 31%, aOR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.04-0.70, p=0.014) in the case group compared with the control group. And when cervical dilation ≥ 3cm, combined McDonald-Shirodkar procedure can significantly reduce perinatal mortality (8.3% vs 46.7%, aOR:0.09, 95%CI: 0.01-0.77, p=0.028), significantly decrease the risk of delivery at <28, <30weeks, prolong GA at delivery and pregnancy latency compared with McDonald procedure. Conclusions: ECC performed with the combined McDonald-Shirodkar procedure in twin pregnancies with cervical dilation 1-6 cm in mid-trimester pregnancy may reduce the rate of sPTB and improve perinatal and neonatal outcomes compared with McDonald procedure, especially for twins with cervical dilation of 3-6 cm and prolapsed membranes.