Background and Objectives: Acute urologic complications, including bladder and/or ureteric injury, are rare but known events occurring at the time of caesarean section (CS). Delayed or inadequate management is associated with increased morbidity and poor long-term outcomes. We conducted this study to identify the risk factors for urologic injuries at CS in order to inform obstetricians and patients of the risks and allow management planning to mitigate these risks. Materials and Methods: We reviewed all cases of urological injuries that occurred at CS surgeries in a tertiary university centre over a period of four years, from January 2016 to December 2019. To assess the risk factors of urologic injuries, a case-control study of women undergoing caesarean delivery was designed, matched 1:3 to randomly selected women who had an uncomplicated CS. Electronic medical records and operative reports were reviewed for socio-demographic and clinical information. Descriptive and univariate analyses were used to characterize the study population and identify the risk factors for urologic complications. Results: There were 36 patients with urologic complications out of 14,340 CS patients, with an incidence of 0.25%. The patients in the case group were older, had a lower gestational age at time of delivery and their newborns had a lower birth weight. Prior CS was more prevalent among the study group (88.2 vs. 66.7%), as was the incidence of placenta accreta and central praevia. In comparison with the control group, the intraoperative blood loss was higher in the case group, although there was no difference among the two groups regarding the type of surgery (emergency vs. elective), uterine rupture, or other obstetrical indications for CS. Prior CS and caesarean hysterectomy were risk factors for urologic injuries at CS. Conclusions: The major risk factor for urological injuries at the time of CS surgery is prior CS. Among patients with previous CS, those who undergo caesarean hysterectomy for placenta previa central and placenta accreta are at higher risk of surgical haemostasis and complex urologic injuries involving the bladder and the ureters.
Background: Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorders are associated with high mortality and morbidity due to postpartum hemorrhage, hysterectomy, and organ injury, and a multidisciplinary team is required for an individualized case management. In this study, we assessed the diagnostic and prognostic accuracy of the most important ultrasonographic (US) and magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) markers for PAS disorders. Material and Methods: The study included 39 adult pregnant patients with at least one previous cesarean delivery and both US and MRI investigations for placenta previa evaluated at the tertiary maternity hospital ‘Cuza Voda’, Iasi, between 2019 and 2021. The following US signs were evaluated: intra-placental lacunae, loss of the retroplacental hypoechoic zone, myometrial thinning < 1 mm, bladder wall interruption, placental bulging, bridging vessels, and the hypervascularity of the uterovesical or retroplacental space. The MRI signs that were evaluated were intra-placental dark T2 bands, placental bulging, loss of the retroplacental hypointense line on T2 images, myometrial thinning, bladder wall interruption, focal exophytic placental mass, and abnormal vascularization of the placental bed. Results: The US and MRI signs analyzed in our study presented adequate sensitivities and specificities for PAS, but no sign proved to be a useful predictor by itself. The presence of three or more US markers for accretion was associated with a sensitivity of 84.6.6% and a specificity of 92.3% (p < 0.001). The presence of three or more MRI signs supplemented these results and were associated with a sensitivity of 92.3% and a specificity of 61.5% for predicting PAS (p < 0.001). Moreover, US and MRI findings were correlated with FIGO grading and severity of PAS. Conclusions: Even though no US or MRI finding alone can predict PAS with high sensitivity and specificity, our study proves that the presence of three or more imagistic signs could significantly increase the diagnostic accuracy of this condition. Furthermore, US and MRI could be useful tools for evaluating prognostic and perinatal planning.
13 September 2017 in Journal of Medical Ultrasonics
The rupture of a subserosa variceal vein overlying a uterine myoma is a rare complication and a less common cause of gynecologic haemoperitoneum. The literature data are scarce regarding this condition and less than 100 cases have been reported (including those occurring during pregnancy). The present case is of a 48‑year‑old woman, with a history of asymptomatic uterine myoma, who was hospitalised for severe abdominal pain with sudden onset and signs of hypovolemic shock. The emergency conventional imaging exams confirmed the diagnosis of uterine myoma and haemoperitoneum, but did not reveal the source of bleeding. The cause of haemoperitoneum was detected by means of emergency laparotomy. In order to obtain quick hemostasis, in the settings of a rapid deteriorating hypovolemic shock, a supracervical hysterectomy was performed. The aim of the article is to raise awareness to gynecologists regarding this extremely rare life‑threatening complication of the most common benign tumor of the uterus.
Background/Objectives: Emerging evidence links vaginal microbiome dysbiosis with HPV persistence and CIN progression, but whether microbiome markers provide incremental prognostic value beyond molecular triage assays remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate whether Lactobacillus depletion and Shannon diversity improve prediction of biopsy-confirmed CIN2+ and CIN3+ outcomes beyond CINtec and HPV-16 genotyping. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study including 82 women undergoing cervical screening or follow-up for abnormal cytology. Associations with CIN2+, CIN3+, and CINtec positivity were estimated using modified Poisson regression. Multiplicative interaction between HPV-16 and Lactobacillus depletion was formally tested. Incremental discriminative performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), DeLong’s test, net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI). Results: HPV-16 was the strongest predictor of CIN2+ (PR = 6.08, p < 0.001) and CIN3+ (PR = 5.53, p = 0.001). A significant sub-multiplicative interaction indicated that Lactobacillus depletion carried its strongest prognostic signal in HPV-16-negative women (CIN3+: PR_interaction = 0.04, p = 0.003). Adding microbiome markers to CINtec + HPV-16 significantly improved CIN2+ discrimination (ΔAUC = 0.034, p = 0.031), driven by correct downward reclassification of non-events (NRI_non-events = 0.833). When added to HPV-16 + age, IDI for CIN2+ reached 0.092 (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Vaginal microbiome markers, particularly Lactobacillus depletion, provide statistically significant incremental discriminative value for CIN2+ beyond CINtec p16/Ki-67 dual staining and HPV-16 genotyping. Microbiome-based triage may be most impactful in HPV-16-negative women.