Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Isolated hematotrachelos is an ex- tremely rare condition. More commonly it is associated with hematometra and/or hematocolpos. It may devel- op secondary to congenital anomalies of the reproductive tract or may be an acquired condition following cervical surgery or manipulation. No case has been reported fol- lowing abdominal myomec- tomy. CASE/METHODS:A 40-year-old, nul- ligravid woman was diag- nosed with isolated hemato- trachelos when she presented with severe abdominal pain following ovulation induction with clomiphene citrate. After the diagnosis was obtained, she recounted 2 similar presentations occurring months earlier. Both episodes had been attributed to gastroenteritis, but each had re- solved with "explosive" onset of menses. All 3 episodes plus 1 later recurrence happened within a 36-month period following an abdominal myomectomy. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Acquired hematotrachelos is a rare condition, and the diagnosis is often missed. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of isolated, recurrent hematotrachelos following the use of a uterine manipulator cannula in association with an abdominal myomectomy.

OBJECTIVE:To determine if very early serum hCG, a marker of trophoblast differentiation, is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes in singleton pregnancies. DESIGN:Retrospective cohort study. SETTING:University fertility program. PATIENT(S):A total of 360 singleton IVF live births. INTERVENTION(S):Serial hCG measurements were used to determine the within-woman slope for hCG (hCG rise). MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE(S):Primary outcomes included birth weight and gestational age at delivery. Statistical comparisons used t test, chi-square test, and linear and logistic regressions as appropriate. RESULT(S):hCG rise was positively associated with birth weight but not gestational age at delivery. Infant sex, gestational age, and type of embryo transfer (fresh vs. frozen/thawed) were significantly associated with birth weight and confounded the associations of interest. hCG rise was slower among subjects delivering an infant with low birth weight (slope 0.386 ± 0.05 vs. 0.407 ± 0.06) or small for gestational age (slope 0.371 ± 0.07 vs. 0.406 ± 0.06). Analysis of hCG rise by quartile showed that, compared with the first quartile (slowest), subjects with a rate of hCG rise in the fourth quartile (fastest) had a significantly decreased risk of delivering an infant of low birth weight. No relationship was noted between hCG rise and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. CONCLUSION(S):Slower very early first-trimester hCG rise is associated with low birth weight but not gestational age at delivery among singleton IVF conceptions. The rate of increase in serum hCG may reflect early trophoblast differentiation and placentation and, possibly, may predict subsequent development.

AIM/OBJECTIVE:Postpartum mood disturbances are common among Greek women, with postpartum depression (PPD) being as high as 19%. This study aimed to investigate whether sex steroid hormone levels affect the incidence of postpartum mood disturbances. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:Fifty-seven women were evaluated for postpartum mood disturbances using the Postpartum Blues Questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale on the 1st and 6th week. Serum estradiol, progesterone and testosterone concentrations were measured upon admission for delivery and daily until the fourth postpartum day. We then studied the association between hormone levels and the scores in the two psychometric scales. RESULTS:Testosterone was the only hormone that was marginally associated with psychometric scoring in simple regression analysis. (Postpartum Blues during days 1-4: b = 4.291, 95% C.I. -0.796 to 9.377 and p-value = 0.096). Women with lower testosterone drops had higher scores in Postpartum Blues Questionnaire. This association, however, lost statistical significance in the multivariable analysis after adjusting for pregnancy duration. In multiple regression analysis, only pregnancy duration had the most constant adverse effect on psychometric scores: The shorter the duration of pregnancy, the higher the scores for Postpartum Blues. (r = -0.39, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS:Our findings do not indicate an association between the occurrence of postpartum mood disorders and sex steroid hormone levels. Preterm labour may be associated with a higher risk of postpartum mood disturbances.