Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M L Gimovsky.
Autonomic hyperreflexia is a serious peripartum complication associated with spinal cord lesions. Although the majority of reported cases have occurred with lesions at T-5 or higher, we report a case occurring in a patient with a lesion at T-10. Management may be by regional anesthesia or primarily medical.
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Intrapartum fetal heart rate response to various scalp stimuli and its correlation with scalp pH was studied in a prospective manner. One hundred fetuses with heart rate tracings judged by the resident responsible for the patient to be suggestive of fetal asphyxia were entered into the study. Each fetus was subjected to firm digital pressure on the head followed by a gentle pinch of the scalp with an atraumatic clamp. Scalp blood sampling was then performed in the usual manner. Response to either of these stimuli by an acceleration of the fetal heart rate of 15 bpm lasting at least 15 seconds was uniformly associated with a scalp blood pH of greater than or equal to 7.19. Fifty-one fetuses so stimulated responded with an acceleration. Of the remaining fetuses, 19 had a scalp pH less than 7.19 and 30 were associated with a pH greater than 7.19. Clinical application of such a scalp stimulation test could, therefore, reduce the necessity for scalp blood sampling by approximately 50% in the presence of a fetal heart rate pattern suggesting acidosis. Such a provocative test may also be very useful with an abnormal fetal heart rate pattern suggestive of acidosis when the cervix is sufficiently dilated to permit scalp blood sampling.
Systemic lupus erythematosus has a predilection for women of childbearing age and may potentially complicate pregnancy. Poor pregnancy outcome in women with systemic lupus erythematosus has been principally ascribed to the presence of renal involvement. Maternal risks have been more difficult to evaluate because of the unpredictable nature of the disease and limited individual experience. The present study reports the outcome of 108 pregnancies in 39 women affected by systemic lupus erythematosus with and without renal manifestation of the disease. Prematurity, small-for-gestational-age birth weight, stillbirth, and spontaneous abortion occurred more frequently in women after the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus was made. Those women with renal involvement had an even further increase in spontaneous abortions as well as a decrease in successful pregnancy outcome (P less than .05). Morbidity in this group of women was rare in the immediate postpartum period, but increased morbidity and mortality did occur in the first two years after delivery.
Cesarean section has become the standard management used by many clinicians for breech presentation in labor. Proof of the superiority of routine cesarean section has been largely circumstantial. Concern over rising cesarean section rates has led to renewed interest in possible alternatives. Protocols have been developed to select which patients may be allowed a trial of labor with frank breech presentation at term. We undertook a prospective clinical trial comparing elective cesarean section with a selective management protocol for the nonfrank breech presentation at term. One hundred five patients with nonfrank breech presentations at term in labor were studied. Seventy (67%) were randomized to a trial of labor and 35 (33%) to elective cesarean section. Of the patients allowed a trial of labor, 31 (44%) were delivered vaginally, and 39 (56%) required cesarean section. The largest single cause of a "failed" trial of labor was inadequate pelvic dimensions on x-ray pelvimetry (23 patients, 59%). Neonatal morbidity assessed by Apgar scores, cord gases, birth injury, and hospital stay was not different for those delivered vaginally or by cesarean section. Maternal morbidity in terms of febrile morbidity, blood transfusion, wound infections, and hospital stay was significantly greater among women delivered by cesarean section. Two of three neonatal deaths occurred in infants with major congenital anomalies. The third infant, apparently normal, died after vaginal delivery. Extensive evaluation suggests the death was attributable to inadequate resuscitation. We conclude that the use of a selective management protocol under controlled conditions is a reasonable alternative to elective cesarean section. Approximately one half of patients allowed a trial of labor may be expected to deliver vaginally with neonatal morbidity comparable to that seen with cesarean section.
Systemic lupus erythematosus with renal involvement is associated with excessive pregnancy wastage as well as substantial maternal risk. The same may be said of borderline renal function after renal transplantation. We treated a patient who had both problems and who carried a pregnancy to term successfully.
Symptomatic diaphragmatic hernia during pregnancy is a rare but potentially dangerous occurrence. A delay in diagnosis and treatment may be fatal to both the woman and the fetus. A case occurred of incarceration of the colon through a foramen of Bochdalek hernia; the diagnosis was made postpartum, with a successful maternal outcome. The failure of conservative measures to adequately diagnose and treat commonly voiced gastrointestinal complaints may lead to a delay in recognizing serious pathology.
Fetal heart rate acceleration in response to various stimuli has long been considered to be a reliable sign of fetal well-being in both the intrapartum and antepartum periods. In an effort to define the correlation between fetal heart rate response and fetal blood pH, we analyzed 200 fetal heart rate tracings of fetuses who had undergone scalp blood sampling in early labor. Data in regard to fetal heart rate response to endoscope placement, scalp puncture, and resultant scalp pH were then analyzed. In no case did a fetus with a scalp blood pH less than 7.20 respond to scalp puncture with an acceleration (defined as an elevation above the baseline of 15 bpm for at least 15 seconds). Among fetuses with a scalp blood pH greater than 7.28, 142 of 144 responded to scalp puncture with an acceleration. Exception occurred in one fetus who was 32 to 33 weeks' gestation, and in one fetus who was moderately Rh isoimmunized. Fetuses with scalp pH in the range of 7.21 to 7.28 showed a variable response. The correlation noted between a reassuring fetal heart rate pattern and the absence of acidosis in conjunction with the inverse (73% of fetuses in whom no acceleration occurred were acidotic) is further verification of both the reliability and complementary nature of intrapartum fetal assessment by both biophysical and biochemical techniques.
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Excessive perinatal loss is associated with breech presentation, and, in large measure, this loss is accounted for by prematurity, congenital anomalies, and birth trauma. In the endeavor to exert an effect on two of these problems, cesarean section has been resorted to increasingly. Three hundred thirty singleton breech pregnancies were reviewed, and delivery in 74.2% of these was by cesarean section. The only cases in which a trial of labor was routinely allowed were frank breech presentations at term. Fetal compromise during labor and delivery was relatively uncommon and seen to occur at both vaginal delivery and cesarean section. Preventable mortality was limited to infants who weighed less than 1,300 gm. Morbidity was also primarily associated with low birth weight, and was not significantly different in term infants delivered vaginally and those delivered by cesarean section. The conclusion drawn is that a liberal policy toward the use of cesarean section for breech presentation is necessary in conjunction with the manual skills required to effect a safe breech delivery, in order to minimize perinatal loss.
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Many factors contribute to the poor perinatal performance seen with the low-birth weight (LBW) breech infant. The factors responsible may be classified as those over which the obstetrician can and cannot exert control. Elective cesarean section is being utilized increasingly in an attempt to improve outcome; however, several authorities have questioned the validity of such intervention until alternative types of management have been evaluated. One possible alternative is to use an intensive intrapartum management scheme with a demonstrated efficacy in term breech management. The authors report retrospectively on the outcome seen among LBW breech infants delivered vaginally with such a protocol. The distribution of untoward perinatal events between the protocol and nonprotocol groups was unaffected by the application of the principles shown to be effective with mature breech infants.
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Theca lutein cysts are benign neoplasms known to be associated with twins, molar pregnancy and erythroblastosis fetalis, but they are only rarely associated with a normal singleton pregnancy. Their natural course is postpartum spontaneous regression. Documented cases were noted because of abdominal pain or dystocia. This paper reports theca lutein cysts which were asymptomatic and were first noted ultrasonographically in a singleton gestation at term. In a few published cases and in a larger number of unpublished cases, apparent confusion as to the benign nature of these cysts has led to unwarranted bilateral oophorectomy. Asymptomatic theca lutein cysts undoubtably occur more commonly than they are reported. With the increasing use of ultrasonography and cesarean section, this condition probably will be observed more frequently in the future. At the time of laparotomy in late pregnancy with ovaries which appear pathological, tissue biopsy and evaluation is of critical importance in order to avoid unnecessary castration in this group of young women.
Several authorities have recommended cesarean section for all intrapartum breech presentations. The present study documents that judiciously selected fetuses at term in breech presentation may be safely delivered vaginally by a selective management protocol that requires cesarean section when mandated criteria are not met. The outcome and performance of 6 years of vaginal breech deliveries were evaluated. Those in the control groups were delivered by spontaneous vertex vaginal and elective repeat cesarean section procedures. Morbidity was not different in the protocol breech vaginal delivery group and in the controls. Mortality was found only in the nonprotocol-managed breech vaginal delivery group, which also had a morbidity 5 times greater than that of controls. Approximately half the term breech presentations that are properly selected and managed may be safely delivered vaginally, thereby avoiding a significant number of cesarean sections and subsequent inherent risks.
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