Faculty Bibliography

One thousand thirty-two neonates were evaluated with umbilical venous and arterial blood samples drawn at delivery for assessment of pH, PO2, PCO2, and base deficit. These values were statistically correlated with Apgar scores in all of the neonates studied. Infants were divided into Apgar groupings (group A, greater than or equal to 7 at one and five minutes; group B, less than 7 at one minute, greater than or equal to 7 at five minutes; group C, less than or equal to 7 at both one and five minutes). Generally, umbilical artery and umbilical venous data were parallel. The differences in means for pH, PO2, PCO2, and base deficit was significant when group A was compared with group B in both umbilical artery and umbilical venous data. However, a severe degree of biochemical disturbance must take place before significant association with neonatal depression can be made. It appears that umbilical blood biochemical data are related to fetal metabolic status before birth but only modestly influence the one-minute Apgar score

The prenatal diagnosis and postpartum confirmation of hydranencephaly is discussed. The need for an adequate knowledge of fetal cranial anatomy when performing obstetric sonography is stressed

Fifty-three fetal heart rate (FHR) tracings obtained by direct ECG monitoring during labor and 24 simultaneous external Doppler FHR tracings were analyzed for the quantitative assessment of baseline FHR variability. The beat-to-beat difference in FHR subsumed by 90% of all beat-to-beat changes within a tracing was taken as the index of variability of that tracing. This index correlated well with the visual assessment of variability for both internal ECG records (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, rs, = 0.71) and external Doppler records (rs = 0.78). However, there was no correlation between the variability index of the Doppler FHR records and that of simultaneous ECG FHR records (r = 0.11, p greater than 0.6). This finding casts doubt on the use of the presence of 'normal' FHR variability as a sign of fetal well-being during antepartum FHR monitoring with current Doppler equipment

This is the second report of endometrioid carcinoma of the ovary associated with an intrauterine pregnancy. The previous report presented six cases, making this the seventh. Characteristics of the tumor are reviewed, as are the guidelines for the management of ovarian carcinoma complicating pregnancy

Despite the clinical impression that firstborn twins do better than second-born twins, recent reports have shown no difference in perinatal mortality between them. In order to evaluate differences in twins, more sensitive means than perinatal deaths are necessary. This study examines differences between 80 firstborn and second-born twin pairs with respect to Apgar score, umbilical venous and arterial blood gas, and acid-base data. The umbilical venous and arterial blood PO2, PCO2, base deficit, pH, and lactic acid concentration were measured in paired samples and compared with the paired t test and chi 2 when applicable. Statistically significant differences favoring twin A, the firstborn, were found in 1-minute Apgar score, umbilical venous pH, PO2, and PCO2, and umbilical arterial PO2. The other factors in umbilical venous and arterial blood did not show statistically significant differences. When these parameters were examined with respect to route of delivery, monochorionic and dichorionic twins, interval between twins, and vertex twins only, with the possible effects of malpresentation eliminated, the results persistently favored the firstborn twin. Thus it is unequivocally demonstrated that there are substantial differences at birth favoring the first twin, despite similar perinatal mortality for both. The data suggest that the second-born twin has potentially greater susceptibility to hypoxia and trauma

Doppler blood velocity waveforms were analyzed from the umbilical artery as an indication of fetal well-being. Since the ratio of systolic to diastolic peak flows (A/B) reflects placental vascular resistance, an abnormality of this value may accurately predict compromised fetuses. Twenty-one studies were performed on 13 patients, using a new duplex system for real-time imaging and range-gated pulsed Doppler analysis, and compared to normal standards. Thirteen studies done in nine uneventful pregnancies were consistently normal. However, abnormal studies were found in the four patients reported as case histories, including women with sickle cell anemia, systemic lupus, diabetes, and growth retardation. The A/B ratio was felt to have predicted potential fetal compromise, including the two fetal deaths. Therefore, with certain cautions, we feel that this rapid, non-invasive technique is useful as a serially applicable reflector of the status of fetoplacental circulation

Simultaneous measurements of maternal arterial and umbilical cord blood pH, PCO2, and base deficit at delivery were studied in 168 live-born infants and their mothers. The correlations between maternal and umbilical parameters were highly significant (P less than .001) and were greater in vigorous than in depressed newborns. Mothers of vigorous acidotic infants had a lower pH and a higher base deficit than those of vigorous nonacidotic infants (P less than .001). However, the maternal-fetal differences were wider in the vigorous acidotic than in the vigorous nonacidotic newborns for all three parameters, and in both umbilical vein and umbilical artery (P less than .001). The data indicate that maternal acidosis accounts only partially for the acidosis observed at the time of delivery in the apparently normal fetus. With neonatal depression, the degree of acidosis is not dependent on maternal pH but on other factors. These factors may be influenced by maternal acidosis, but they are the major reasons for the neonatal depression, not the maternal acidosis