Background: Preeclampsia is a major pregnancy complication that results in significant maternal and infant mortality, most of which occurs in low and middle-income countries. The accurate and timely diagnosis of preeclampsia is critical in management of affected pregnancies to reduce maternal and fetal/neonatal morbidity and mortality, yet difficulties remain in establishing the rigorous diagnosis of preeclampsia based on clinical parameters alone. Biomarkers that detect biochemical disease have been proposed as complements or alternatives to clinical criteria to improve diagnostic accuracy. This cohort study assessed the performance of several biomarkers, including glycosylated fibronectin (GlyFn), to rule-in or rule-out preeclampsia within 4 weeks in a cohort of women at increased risk for preeclampsia. Methods: 151 women with risk factors for or clinical signs and symptoms of preeclampsia were selected from a prospective cohort. Maternal serum samples were collected between 20 and 37 weeks of gestation. Clinical suspicion of preeclampsia was defined as presence of new-onset proteinuria, or clinical symptoms of preeclampsia. Subjects with a clinical diagnosis of preeclampsia at the time of enrollment were excluded. GlyFn, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPPA2), placental growth factor (PlGF), and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) were measured by immunoassay. GlyFn was also determined using a rapid point-of care (POC) test format. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves derived from logistic regression analysis were used to determine the classification performance for each analyte. Results: 32 of 151 (21%) women developed a clinical diagnosis of preeclampsia within 4 weeks. All biomarkers exhibited good classification performance [GlyFn (area under the curve (AUROC) = 0.94, 91% sensitivity, 86% specificity); PAPPA2 AUC = 0.92, 87% sensitivity, 77% specificity; PlGF AUC = 0.90, 81% sensitivity, 83% specificity; sFlt-1 AUC = 0.92, 84% sensitivity, 91% specificity. The GlyFn immunoassay and the rapid POC test showed a correlation of r = 0.966. Conclusions: In this prospective cohort, serum biomarkers of biochemical disease were effective in short-term prediction of preeclampsia, and the performance of GlyFn in particular as a POC test may meet the needs of rapid and accurate triage and intervention.

Introduction and hypothesis We aimed to compare differences between laparoscopic lateral suspension with mesh (LLS) performed with supracervical hysterectomy (LLSHE) and without hysterectomy (LLSUP). Methods We retrospectively collected data from women operated by a single surgeon between 2003 and 2011. From a total of 339 women with symptomatic anterior and/or apical pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and an intact uterus, 224 had LLSUP (70.4%) and 94 had LLSHE (29.6%). Three hundred and sixteen patients were examined at 1 year. Primary outcomes were objective and subjective success at 1 year during clinical evaluation. Secondary outcomes were complications (Clavien-Dindo scale) and mesh exposure. Patient satisfaction was evaluated by telephone interview using a 10-point scale and the Patient Global Impression of Improvement Scale (PGI-I). Results LLSUP and LLSHE did not differ for age (mean 57 and 55 years, respectively), preoperative status, complications, and participation at the interview (52 vs 53%). LLSHE is associated with higher mesh exposure (6.5 vs 1.3%, p = 0.014) and more frequent use of Mersilene. Titanium-coated and noncoated polypropylene was more frequently used in LLSUP. At 1 year, both anatomic success rate for the anterior compartment (98.7 vs 94.6%, p = 0.021) and subjective success rate (83.5 vs 72.8%, p = 0.035) were higher for LLSUP. Without hysterectomy, patients more often improved (90.5 vs 76.5%, p = 0.013) and would more frequently recommend the procedure (94.5 vs 80.4%, p = 0.004). Conclusions LLS with or without hysterectomy is a safe technique with high patient satisfaction. The uterus-preserving approach appears to result in better anatomic outcome for the anterior compartment, better subjective outcome, and higher patient satisfaction.

Introduction: The objective was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of different thresholds of the soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (sFlt-1) and the placental growth factor (PlGF) in preterm (≤37 weeks) and term (>37 weeks) preeclampsia (PE). Materials and Methods: A nested case-control study was performed from a high-risk Swiss cohort. Only blood samples on the day of PE diagnosis were included. The primary outcome was to verify the diagnosis using the recently proposed cut-off values for PE (sFlt-1:PlGF ratio of ≥85 in ≤ 34 weeks or ≥110 in >34 weeks), and the gestational age dependent centiles. Results: Thirty-four women with preterm PE were matched with 64 controls and 25 women with term PE with 45 controls. The test performance of the sFlt-1:PlGF ratio in preterm PE was very good (AUROCC of 0.95). The sFlt-1:PlGF ratio could adequately predict adverse fetal or neonatal outcome. In term PE, sFlt-1 alone showed a slightly better diagnostic accuracy with an AUROCC of 0.84. Almost all women with a sFlt-1:PlGF ratio above threshold delivered during the following week. Discussion: In pregnant women with high risk of developing PE, the sFlt-1:PlGF ratio and sFlt-1 levels help clinicians to confirm the diagnosis of imminent preterm PE and can additionally be used to rule out PE at term.

To compare three conservative treatment options, standard care, pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), and vaginal pessaries, for postpartum urinary incontinence (UI) that are accessible to most patients and practitioners in a generalizable cohort. A multicenter, open-label, parallel group, pragmatic randomized controlled clinical trial comparing standard care, PFMT, and vaginal cube pessary for postpartum urinary incontinence was conducted in six outpatient clinics. Sample size was based on large treatment effects (Cramers’ V > 0.35) with a power of 80% and an alpha of 0.05 for a 3 × 3 contingency table, 44 patients needed to be included in the trial. Outcomes were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle. Group comparisons were made using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis, and chi-square test as appropriate. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Of the 516 women screened, 111 presented with postpartum UI. Of these, 52 were randomized to one of three treatment groups: standard care (n = 17), pelvic floor muscle training (n = 17), or vaginal cube pessary (n = 18). After 12 weeks of treatment, treatment success, as measured by patient satisfaction, was significantly higher in the vaginal pessary group (77.8%, n = 14/18), compared to the standard care group (41.2%, n = 7/17), and the PFMT (23.5%, n = 4/17; χ² _2,n = 52 = 14.55; p = 0.006, Cramer-V = 0.374). No adverse events were reported. SUI and MUI accounted for 88.4% of postpartum UI. Vaginal pessaries were superior to standard care or PFMT to satisfyingly reduce postpartum UI symptoms. No complications were found. Ziel war es, 3 konservative Optionen zur Behandlung der postpartalen Harninkontinenz in einer verallgemeinerbaren Kohorte zu vergleichen. Verfügbare Behandlungsoptionen waren Standardversorgung (Rückbildungskurse), Beckenbodenphysiotherapie und Pessare, die den meisten Patientinnen und Behandelnden zur Verfügung stehen. Es wurde eine multizentrische offene pragmatische randomisierte kontrollierte klinische Studie mit parallelen Gruppen durchgeführt. Die Outcomes nach Standardversorgung (Rückbildungskurse), Beckenbodenphysiotherapie oder Würfel-Pessaren zur Behandlung von postpartaler Harninkontinenz wurden in 6 Arztpraxen verglichen. Zum Nachweis eines großen Behandlungseffektes (Cramers V > 0,35) mit einer Teststärke von 80% bei einem Alpha von 0,05 für eine 3 × 3-Kontingenztabelle wurde eine Stichprobengröße von mindestens 44 Patientinnen errechnet. Die Outcomes wurden nach dem Intention-to-treat-Prinzip analysiert. Die Gruppen wurden mithilfe der Varianzanalyse (ANOVA) sowie Kruskal-Wallis- und Chi-Quadrat-Test verglichen. Der p-Wert für die statistische Signifikanz betrug < 0,05. Von den 516 untersuchten Frauen hatten 111 eine postpartale Harninkontinenz. Von diesen Frauen wurden 52 in jeweils eine der 3 Behandlungsgruppen randomisiert: Standardversorgung (Rückbildungskurse, n = 17), Beckenbodenphysiotherapie (n = 17) und Würfel-Pessare (n = 18). Nach 12 Wochen Behandlungszeit war der an der Patientinnenzufriedenheit gemessene Behandlungserfolg signifikant höher in der Pessar-Gruppe (77,8%, n = 14/18) verglichen mit den Gruppen Standardversorgung (Rückbildungskurse, 41,2%, n = 7/17) und Beckenbodenphysiotherapie (23,5%, n = 4/17; χ² _2,n = 52 = 14,55; p = 0,006, Cramers-V = 0,374). Es gab keine unerwünschten Ereignisse. Belastungsinkontinenz und Mischinkontinenz machten 88,4% der Fälle mit postpartaler Harninkontinenz aus. Es stellte sich heraus, dass für eine zufriedenstellende Reduktion von Symptomen der postpartalen Harninkontinenz Pessare der Standardversorgung (Rückbildungskurse) und der Beckenbodenphysiotherapie überlegen waren. Komplikationen sind keine aufgetreten. Received: 25 September 2023 Accepted after revision: 10 January 2024 Article published online: 06 March 2024 © 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Georg Thieme Verlag KG Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany